
Class 


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COPYRIGHT DEPOSITS 



FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 
OF TEACHER TRAINING 



BY 

WADE CRAWFORD BARCLAY 




THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN 

NEW YORK CINCINNATI 






Copyright, 1912 and 1914, by 
WADE CRAWFORD BARCLAY 



AUG iO I'3i4 
©CI,A379076 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

Preface v 

To the Teacher vii 

INTRODUCTORY SECTION 
I. The Primacy of the Pupil ix 

11. The Sunday School as a Religious Institution.... xvi 

III. The Child as the Subject of Religious Education. . xxiv 

IV. The Place of the Bible in Religious Education... . xxxii 

SECTION I— The Bible 

I. The Teacher's Study of the Bible i 

II, The Bible — A General View 7 

III. The Bible in the Making 15 

IV. Peoples and Nations of the Ancient World 21 

V. The Land of Palestine 27 

VI. The Early History of the Hebrews 33 

VII. The Periods of the Conquest, the Judges, and the 

United Kingdom 40 

VIIL The Divided Kingdom , 48 

IX. The Exile and Periods of Foreign Rule 58 

X. Israel's Priests and the Sacred Law.. 68 

XI. Forms and Institutions of Worship 75 

XII. Prophets and Prophecy of Israel. . 83 

XIII. Poetry and Wisdom of the Old Testament 89 

XIV. The World of Jesus' Day 96 

XV. The New Testament 105 

XVI. The Biography of Jesus 115 

XVII. The Gospel of a Divine Person 126 

XVIII. The Teaching of Jesus 132 

XIX. The Apostolic Church 140 

XX. The Work of Paul for Christianity 147 

XXI. The Teaching Values of Different Parts of the Bible 156 

iii 



£v CONTENTS 

SECTION II— The Pupil 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXII. A Chapter of Definitions 163 

XXIIL Growth 169 

XXIV. Activity 176 

XXV. Early Childhood 184 

XXVI. Middle Childhood 194 

XXVII. Later Childhood 202 

XXVIII. Early Adolescence 213 

XXIX. Middle and Later Adolescence 227 

XXX. Adult Life 2^ 

XXXI. Lessons for the Grades 249 

SECTION III— The Teacher 

XXXII. The Teacher's First Pupil 256 

XXXIII. Methods of Teaching 262 

XXXIV. The Lesson Plan 269 

XXXV. Interest and Attention 275 

XXXVI. Illustrations 281 

XXXVII. Questions 286 

XXXVIII. Enlisting the Pupil's Activity 291 

XXXIX. Some Ultimate Conditions of Success 297 

SECTION IV— The School 

XL. The Church of Our Lord 302 

XLI. The Christianization of the World 310 

XLII. Early Religious Education and the Rise of the Sunday 

School 316 

XLIII. Sunday School Organization and Administration. .. .322 

XLIV. The School Session 331 

XLV. The Week Day Work of the School z?>7 

XLVI. Recruiting and Building Up the School 342 

XLVII. The Final Test 347 



PREFACE 

The purpose of this book is to present in compact, convenient 
form, at a price within reach of all, a reasonably comprehensive 
and thorough elementary training course for teachers and those 
looking forward to teaching in the Sunday school. 

The author's experience for the past five years in promoting the 
organization of classes and in the administration of teacher-training 
classes has acquainted him with a widespread dissatisfaction with 
the very brief outline courses which for years have practically oc- 
cupied the field to the exclusion of the more advanced courses. The 
urgent need for more teachers in almost every Sunday school, re- 
sulting in the members of the class of young people being drawn 
upon for service before an extensive course can be completed, 
together with the difficulty of maintaining a weeknight class of 
teachers through a long period, as well as other reasons, makes 
the demand for a brief course almost universal. It is hoped that 
this book will be found to meet the need for a more adequate 
course which is at the same time brief. To those who have been 
accustomed to the use of the outline courses, this may at first 
seem too heavy and too extensive. It will be found, however, that 
the form of the lessons lends itself readily to adaptation to different 
kinds of classes, and it is believed that the course will be found 
practicable for use in the average class. 

It is the earnest hope of the author that the book will appreciably 
aid in the greatly needed and exceedingly important work of pre- 
paring men and women for effective service as religious teachers 
in the school of the Church. 

The author gratefully acknowledges his obligation to Professor 
A. C. Knudson, of the Boston University School of Theology, and 
to the Rev. Oren B. Waite, D.D., for criticisms and valuable sug- 
gestions on Section I— the Bible; to Mrs. J. Woodbrldge Barnes, 
Superintendent of Graded Instruction, to the Rev. Henry H. Meyer, 
D.D., Editor of Sunday School Publications, and to the Rev. Edgar 
Blake, D.D., Corresponding Secretary of the Board of Sunday 
Schools, for helpful criticisms and suggestions on Section II — the 
Pupil, and Section III — the Teacher. 

Wade Crawford Barclay. 

Chicago, April, 1914. 



TO THE TEACHER 

The teacher is urged to make a careful study of the plan of the 
text before begmning his work with the class. Attention is called 
to the following features : 

The Lesson Statement. This is to form the basis of the recita- 
tion in the class session. Every member of the class should be 
required to have a copy of the textbook and to make diligent 
study of the entire Lesson Statement. The recitation upon it 
should be participated in by all. The teacher should encourage 
free discussion, which may be guided by questions. Neither the 
teacher nor any member of the class should monopolize the time. 
The inexperienced teacher will do well to study Chapter XXXHI, 
Methods of Teaching, with especial reference to the use of the 
conversation method as therein described. The recitation should 
not be considered complete until the teacher has assured himself 
that every point in the Lesson Statement is clearly understood by 
all. 

The Constructive Task. This should involve original observa- 
tion and thought on the part of every m.ember of the class. It Is not 
expected that every student will perform the entire Constructive 
Task of every lesson. Assignments should be made a week in ad- 
vance, each student being given at least one item of the Construc- 
tive Task on which a written report shall be required. These 
reports should be read and graded by the teacher. Some two or 
three of the best reports of the previous week may be read in the 
class session. In some classes it may be found that the members 
are able to do all of the work suggested. This is one of the most 
important features of the course, and it Is well for each student to 
report on as many as possible of the items. 

Memory Assignment. The memorizing suggested under each 
lesson should be done outside of the class session, as a part of the 
lesson preparation. The teacher may drill the class on the memory 
assignment but under no circumstances should the major part of 
the time be thus used. A brief period each week may be given 
to a review of the memory work of preceding lessons. In the 
memory drills and reviews a blackboard will be found of much 
assistance. Thought and practice on the part of the teacher will 
suggest various ways In which the memory assignment may be so 
reproduced on the blackboard as to aid the pupils In memorization. 

vll 



viii TO THE TEACHER 

Questions on the Lesson. The questions given are meant to be 
simply suggestive. Tlie less use made of these printed questions 
during the session the better. In the preparation of the lesson 
the teacher should construct his own questions. For the most 
part the discussion on the lesson should guide the teacher in 
questioning. That no important point may be omitted he may 
occasionally refer to his own list of questions. 

References for Supplementary Reading. In Section I — the Bible, 
the references for supplementary reading are all to two volumes, 
namely. The One Volume Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings (price 
$5.00), and the One Volume Bible Commentary, Dummelow (price 
$2.50). These are standard books of permanent value, such as may 
well form a part of the librar}^ of every Bible student. In addition 
each member of the class should be required to have a good, sub- 
stantial, well-bound Bible of convenient size, preferably the Stan- 
dard Edition of the American Revised Version. In the other 
sections of the text each lesson will be found to have references 
under two heads, namely. The Worker and His Work Series and 
In the Library. The Worker and His Work Series consists of 
eight volumes, uniform in size and style of binding. The set 
complete, in a neat box, may be purchased for $3.75 delivered. It 
is expected that every class will purchase a set of these books 
for its own use. In addition to the references cited, each member 
of the class should read through some one of the books of this 
series pertaining to a particular department of the Sunday school. 
For example, those who are teaching or who will elect to teach 
Beginners or Primary pupils, should read The Elementary Worker 
and His Work; teachers of Juniors, The Junior Worker and His 
Work; and so forth. Under the second head. In the Library, 
reference is made to a limited number of the most important books 
in the various general fields under discussion. The titles named 
should be In the Worker's Library of the Sunday school, or in the 
public library. If they are not thus available, request made to the 
Sunday School Board, or to the Public Library Board, might result 
in their purchase. If not, some members of the class may be 
willing to invest in one or more of them. 

Suggestions and criticisms by teachers are Invited, and will be 
gratefully received. The author may be addressed In care of The 
Sunday School Editorial Department of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, Methodist Book Concern, New York or Cincinnati. 

Wade Crawford Barclay. 



INTRODUCTORY SECTION 

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER I 

THE PRIMACY OF THE PUPIL 
I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. THE CHIEF FACTORS IN SUNDAY SCHOOL WORK 
When we think of the work of the Sunday school there are five 
chief factors which claim attention. These factors are : the pupil, 
for whom the school was instituted and exists ; the institu- 
tion itself, the Sunday school, the school of the Church ; the 
teachers through whom and by whom the work of the school is 
chiefly done ; the lessons, the materials of religious education ; and 
the principles and methods used by the teacher in making the les- 
sons effective in the religious education of the pupil. 

Any teacher-training course, elementary or advanced, is princi- 
pally concerned with these five chief factors. 

2. THE FIRST OF THESE 

Of these five chief factors the pupil must ever be considered the 
first. He is the chief factor. Everything else is for the sake of 
the pupil. For him the Sunday school exists. For him the teacher 
spends and is spent. For him lessons are framed, and studied, and 
taught. For him principles and methods are conceived and put 
into practice. 

It is exceedingly important that this truth be realized and tena- 
ciously held, both in theory and practice. Our interest should 
center in the religious life of the pupil. All our effort should be 
directed toward the development of his spiritual life. If any other 
interest than this is placed first, we are occupied with things second- 
ary and subordinate. We have to do with life, its nurture and 
direction. If we turn aside from this to anything else, it is to that 
which is external and mechanical. 

Nothing is more clearly recognized to-day in all education than 
that the child must be made central in the educational process. It 
is impossible to do anything for the child if our interest is centered 
upon something external to him which, because of its excellence or 
intrinsic value, we want to bring into relation with him. We can- 
not arbitrarily choose things which to us appear valuable, and im- 

ix 



X FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

pose them upon the child's being or insert them into it, and thus 
make them a part of him. The child's mind is neither a blank 
tablet upon which we may write, nor is it an empty receptacle into 
which we may thrust our treasures at will. If we would aid the 
child in his development, we must take our stand with him, realiz- 
ing that he is a living, self-acting being, and bring within his reach 
what his life needs, what it will take within itself, assimilate, and 
grow upon. 

3. SOME IMPLICATIONS OF THE PRINCIPLE 

Let us briefly consider some of the implications of this principle 
of the primacy of the pupil. 

(i) The Purpose of the Sunday School. A very important 
question, one which confronts us in the very beginning of our 
study, concerns the aim of the Sunday school. What is the purpose 
of the Sunday school? The answer is fundamental because it will 
determine means, methods, and in some measure the spirit with 
which the work is approached. To this question numerous answers 
are returned in teacher-training textbooks and in general Sunday 
school literature. The answer which has been given most fre- 
quently in recent years is. To teach the Bible. It has been vari- 
ously phrased, one popular statement being, "The Sunday school 
is the world's greatest institution for popularizing the world's great- 
est Book." Other statements emphasize the relation of the Sunday 
school to the Church and its perpetuation as the institutional repre- 
sentation of the kingdom of God. One of these is, "The Sunday 
school is the Bible-teaching service of the Church." 

It is evident that our principle will not allow these statements to 
be accepted as sufficient. The objection to them is that they are 
not centered in persons. Teaching the Bible in the school is a 
means, not an end. Without question we will teach the Bible, but 
we shall do so because its lessons surpass all others in developing 
the spiritual life of the pupil. Again, building the Church through 
the school is a means, not an end. The one supreme end of the 
Sunday school is the development and training of boys and girls, 
men and women, in Christian character and service. 

A head master of a famous school was once asked, "What do 
you teach in your school ?" "We teach boys," was his wise reply. 
This is the business of the Sunday school. Its aim is to create 
Christlike lives. Its purpose is identical with that of the Master, 
who said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might 
have it more abundantly." Nothing less than this can be accepted 
as a sufficient statement of the purpose of the Sunday school. It 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xi 

does not exist for the sake of a book — we say it reverently — not 
even for the sake of the Book of books. It exists for the sake of 
boys and girls, in order to make of them such men and women 
as were the great characters with which the Bible acquaints us. Its 
primary and controlling interest is in the development of a race of 
God-inspired men and women. In achieving its purpose it uses 
the Bible because the Bible has demonstrated in multitudes of lives 
its power to inspire, and to accomplish this development of Chris- 
tian character. 

(2) The Selection of Teachers. In the selection of teachers for 
the Sunday school, the Church in general has come to realize the 
absurdity of the old idea that just anyone will do. There is now 
pretty nearly universal agreement that a high order of intelligence, 
combined with goodness and strength of character, is required for 
this work. It has not been sufficiently realized, however, that in 
addition to these elemental qualifications it is absolutely essential 
for the teacher to know childhood, if he is to be successful in teach- 
ing children. 

We cannot lead a child out into fullness of life until we ourselves 
know the laws in accordance with which development proceeds. We 
cannot stimulate the pupil along the line of his deepest needs unless 
we have fathomed the depths of his nature. We cannot bring to 
him that to which he will respond unless we know the kind of 
reactions of which he is capable. In the best of our public schools 
when a pupil is disobedient and disorderly, when he is restless and 
disinterested, the teacher, instead of taking steps toward having 
him expelled as a disturber of the peace and order of the school, 
gives herself with renewed diligence to a study of him, that she 
may understand him and discover the explanation of her failure to 
deal successfully with him. We do well in our Sunday school work 
if, when we observe that boys and girls are disinterested and 
are leaving the school, instead of blaming total depravity or finding 
fault with external conditions in the community, we set ourselves 
to a renewed study of the religious interests and needs of our 
pupils. The "dullness" and "irresponsiveness" and "disorderliness" 
of the average boy in Sunday school are simply reflections of the 
teacher's inability to deal with the pupil. Our work will never be 
as effective as it ought to be until, among the first questions asked 
concerning a would-be teacher is this: "Does he know boy nature?" 
or "Does this woman understand girls?" As it is, teachers are usu- 
ally more concerned about telling boys and girls what they ought 
to be than in understanding what they are in order that they may 



xii FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

be prepared to help them become what they ought to be. It must be 
said that where some teacher-training graduates fail other untrained 
teachers succeed because they have a love for children, a feeling of 
human sympathy and comradeship with them which gives them an 
instinctive understanding of their nature and needs. Love imparts 
insight to knowledge in a truly wonderful way. No amount of cold, 
unsympathetic study of scientific facts about child nature will pre- 
pare a man or woman to nurture the spiritual life of boys and 
girls. Learning without love is preparation for failure. 

(3) The Choice of Lessons. How shall ksson courses for the 
Sunday school be chosen? In answering this question attention in 
the past has been centered upon the Book. Instruction concerned 
itself with the Bible — how best to arrange courses in order to cover 
the entire Bible and insure that the different parts of it be given a 
place in the scheme of lessons. This method of procedure was in- 
dicative of a general attitude. It might almost be said that the child 
was regarded as existing for the sake of the Book, his memory 
created that the Bible might have a place to lodge. Likewise, in 
general education students were subordinate to studies. Teachers 
centered their attention upon a certain body of truth and consid- 
ered only how they might get it into the minds of their students. Of 
such a process it might truly be said : 

"We teach and teach, 
Until like drumming pedagogues, we lose 
The thought that what we teach has higher ends 
Than being taught and learned." 

But a great shift has been made. General education now denies 
to subjects this central place. It centers its attention upon persons 
and asks: "What do the nature and needs of the pupil of this 
particular age suggest as to the materials of education to be brought 
to him? What do his interests and needs demand in the way of 
subjects?" A similar change is rapidly taking place in religious 
education. Says J. T. McFarland : "The shifting of interest from 
externals to vitalities is the thing that most characterizes the reli- 
gious education of the present day. Now for the first time it is 
being recognized that the curriculum is for the child, not the child 
for the curriculum, that the material of teaching must be deter- 
mined by the vital needs of those to be taught. Life must have 
unchallenged and unobstructed right of way in religious education. 
The central interest must be the human being whose development 
is proposed." 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xiii 

The principle which we are considering requires just this pro- 
cedure in choosing lessons for the Sunday school. All lessons, 
whatever their origin or character, must be regarded as subservient. 
Personality is more than lesson material. Our object is the de- 
velopment of life, not the complete and orderly arrangement of 
subject matter into lessons. We believe that God is more interested 
in the right ordering of a boy's life than he is in the systematic 
division of the Bible into lessons. 

We find in the Bible a wide variety of lesson material. At least 
the larger part of it will be required by the developing individual 
some time in his life, in order that his religious education may be 
complete. Of all the world's literature, the Bible has that which is 
most perfectly fitted to inspire, to stimulate, to lead life out into its 
finest and largest self-realization. No one can be ignorant of it and 
live a rich, strong. Christian life. It did not come into existence all 
at once; it was a growth of centuries. It is therefore just, for every 
reason, that we should allow the developing nature of the pupil, 
rather than exterior considerations, to determine when the several 
kinds of lesson materials from the Bible shall be brought to. him. 
Whatever lesson material in addition to that of the Bible is de- 
manded by the growing life we shall be ready and willing to pro- 
vide. 

(4) Principles and Methods. In the light of the principle under 
consideration no principles of teaching are really valid, no methods 
effective, unless they are fruitful in maximum measure in their 
influence upon the life of the pupil. A principle is to be valued, 
not according to the antiquity of its origin nor the weight of its 
promulgator's name, but only according to its results in the life 
of the pupil. Or, as Professor Coe states : "In large part educa- 
tional laws originate in the child and find their point of applica- 
tion in the teacher. In a true sense the child gives laws and the 
teacher obeys." 

So also with methods and plans in Sunday school administration. 
A single illustration will point our meaning. A favorite plan in 
Sunday school administration in the past has been for the entire 
school to meet together in a mass assembly. This originally came 
into vogue in all probability because it is the simplest, easiest, and 
least expensive method of assembling the school. There is now a 
decided tendency toward holding entirely separate departmental 
assemblies. The statements commonly heard in defense of the older 
plan are to this effect : "I like to see my school all together ; it 
makes so much better appearance." "The school seems so much 



xiv FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

bigger when it meets all together." "Our church building will not 
permit of the separate assembling of the departments, and we can- 
not afford to build a new Sunday school building." As reasons, 
these statements are superficial and trivial. The real question to 
be asked is. Which plan enables the Sunday school to do its work 
for its pupils most effectively? If the answer to this question is 
clear, nothing should be allowed to stand in the way of ultimate 
realization of the better plan. 

4. THE TEST OF A GOOD SUNDAY SCHOOL 

Sunday schools are judged by many standards. Commonly, 
people form their opinion of a school from the building in which it 
is held, from its size, the order of its sessions, its organization, its 
popularity in the community, or by a combination of some of these, 
or similar, standards. There is only one supreme test of a good 
Sunday school and that is the personal test. The goal of our work 
is spiritual. The method is the evangelism of teaching. The meas- 
ure of our success is in terms of Christian character. Any Sunday 
school is fulfilling its real purpose to the extent that it is succeed- 
ing in leading its members to live lives of obedience and loyalty to 
the will of the heavenly Father and of loving, self-denying service to 
men. If it is doing this, it is a good Sunday school. If it is not 
succeeding in this, no matter how big it may be, how strong an 
organization it may possess, or how complete an equipment it may 
have, it is a failure. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

Consider the work of the Sunday school with which you 
are best acquainted: 

1. What seems to be placed first in the plans and work 
of the school? 

2. What do the boys and girls think of the Sunday school? 

3. What is the test of success most commonly applied? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"Come to me, O ye children ! 

For I hear you at your play. 
And the questions that perplexed me 
Have vanished quite away. 

"For what are all our contrivings, 

And the wisdom of our books, 
When compared with your caresses, 
And the gladness of your looks? 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xv 

"Ye are better than all the ballads 
That ever were sung or said; 
For ye are living poems, 
And all the rest are dead." 

— Longfellow. 

1. Five chief factors in the work of the Sunday school: 
a. The Pupil; b. The Institution; c. The Teacher; d. The 
Lessons; e. Principles and Methods. 

2. The supreme end of the Sunday school : The develop- 
ment of boys and girls, men and women, in Christian char- 
acter and service. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What are the five chief factors in the work of the Sunday school? 

Which is the first of these? 

What, then, should be the center of our interest and effort? 

What is the general application of this principle in education ? 

Give some statement which you have heard of the purpose of the Sunday 
school and criticize it. 

What is the objection to the statement quoted? 

What is your statement? 

What is commonly required in a Sunday school teacher? 

Why is a knowledge of childhood necessary to the teacher? 

What, therefore, is one of the first questions to be asked in selecting a 
teacher? 

How have lesson courses for the Sunday school been chosen in the past? 

What is the relative place of subjects and persons in general education 
to-day? 

Why should this order be preserved in choosing lessons for the Sunday 
school? 

What is the test of validity for principles of teaching? For methods and 
plans in Sunday school administration? 

How do people usually judge a Sunday school? 

What is the supreme test of a good Sunday school? 

Has your Sunday school worked out a clear statement of its purposes and so 
published it that all know its aims? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Central Position of the Pupil. 

I.W.H.W. p. 70. 

2. The Determination of Lesson Materials. 

J.W.H.W. pp. 88, 89. 
II. In the Library 

1. Education as Development of Life. 

Coe, Education in Religion and Morals, Chap. VTI. 

2. The Personal Ideal in Sunday School Work. 

Cope, Efficiency in the Sunday School, Chap. VIII. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER II 

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AS A RELIGIOUS 
INSTITUTION 

L LESSON STATEMENT 

The Sunday school, we have already seen, is a religious institu- 
tion; its object the religious development of the pupil; its method 
the evangelism of teaching. We are now to consider the Sunday 
school in its relation to certain other great institutions, and also 
consider somewhat more in detail how it is to do its work. 

I. RELATION OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TO THE CHURCH 

(i) The Sunday School the Church School. The Sunday 
school is not a separate institution. It is a part of a larger whole. 
It exists within the Church and as a part of the Church. It is a 
part of the Church specially organized to carry on the work of 
religious education. As a whole is not entire without all its parts, 
so the Church is not complete without the Sunday school. The 
aims and purposes of each interpenetrate the other. The ultimate 
end of both is the same. 

The Sunday school in its present form is modern, but Christian 
religious instruction is as old as Christianity itself. Jesus called 
his followers disciples, that is, learners, and commanded them to go 
and teach the nations. The Sunday school is the agency by means 
of which the Church m our day does its work of systematic reli- 
gious instruction. It is maintained by the Church, is under the 
control of the Church, and is responsible to the Church. Its teach- 
ers are teachers in the Church of Christ. The Sunday school is the 
school of the Church. 

(2) For All Ages. The Sunday school is not the children's 
Church. It is for children, and children and young people should 
constitute a large part of its membership, since almost half of 
the nation's population are under twenty years of age ; but it is 
also for adults. The Sunday school is not exclusively for children 
any more than the Church, as a whole, is exclusively for grown 
people. All of the Church is for both children and adults. We 
cannot and must not divide the Church up into parts of which we 

xvii 



xvHi FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

shall say one is the children's part and another the grown people'i 
part. It would seem that such a statement ought by this time to be 
unnecessary ; unfortunately, it is not. Frequently ministers and 
convention speakers label the Sunday school "the children's 
Church," or "the nursery of the Church," or narrow-visioned 
church members cut off a plea in behalf of the Sunday school with 
the contemptuous sneer, "It's only the kids' department of the 
Church." The Church and Sunday school are one for everyone; 
and the success of each, to a large extent at least, depends upon 
the cooperation of the other. In the conduct of the public services 
children and youth, as well as adults, should be in mind. The 
Sunday school of a church which is really alive will number many 
adults among its attendants. 

(3) The School of the Church. In fulfilling its divine purpose 
in the world the Church has used various methods. In our day it 
is turning with new faith and energy to the educational method. 
This method has been thoroughly tried and has been found to be 
the most effective and efficient of any. It is not new, for it was 
used by Jesus, and was the chief instrument in the conversion of 
the Roman world to Christianity. It received new emphasis in the 
Protestant Reformation. In recent years all Churches have been 
turning again to it as the most fruitful means of making the reli- 
gion of Christ regnant in the lives of men. This method is not 
opposed to evangelism. It is itself a form of evangelism. The 
evangel is the truth of God. The conviction which lies back of its 
use is that the Holy Spirit can do his creative, illuminating, trans- 
forming, and sanctifying work in souls spiritually alive through 
educational means; in other words, that Christian character can 
best be formed by religious teaching and training. It honors the 
truth of God. "It works quietly but with a purpose that is deep 
and broad and long. It knows how to wait as well as work." It 
is not intolerant of other religious methods, but seeks to encourage 
them, and craves for its subjects all that they can do for them. 
It stands exclusively for no one type of religious experience, but 
realizes that God has many ways of revealing himself to the 
children of men and of working his will in them. It is not jeal- 
ous, but recognizes as an ally every influence which may be 
brought into contact with the life to stimulate, broaden, intensify, 
or strengthen. 

It is because the Church believes profoundly in religious teaching, 
and has found it exceedingly profitable, that we have the Sunday 
school. It is the institution which the Church has called into exist- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xix 

ence as its chief agency of religious education. It is the school of 
the Church. 

The Sunday school differs from other schools which have cur- 
ricula made up of definitely prescribed subjects. In the high school, 
for example, pupils, study United States history, English literature, 
algebra, and other subjects. The high school, it would generally 
be conceded, fairly fulfills its purpose if it succeeds in imparting 
knowledge of these subjects. But the Sunday school is a school of 
religion. Its purpose, much less than that of other schools, is to 
give information about subjects. It exists to develop a life — the 
life of God in children and youth and adults — just as the Church 
exists for this purpose. But the Sunday school is organized to do 
this work by means of religious teaching. Consequently, the Sun- 
day school uses only such subject matter as is believed to be most 
effective in building up moral and religious character. It finds this 
chiefly in the Bible. 

2. RELATION OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TO THE HOME 

The home is the first and most important school of religion. The 
first and last responsibility for the religious instruction and for 
the development in Christian character of childhood and youth is 
upon parents. The Sunday school can never take the place of the 
home in the religious education of the child. The success of the 
Sunday school depends largely upon securing the cooperation of 
the home. This is not to say that the Sunday school can do nothing 
where the home influence and training are against religion, but, 
rather, that it can do its perfect work only where home and Sunday 
school cooperate sympathetically. 

Formerly it was often said as an objection to the Sunday school 
that it released parents from a sense of their responsibility for the 
religious nurture of their children. Better not have a Sunday 
school than that this should be the case to any general extent. 
To guard against such an effect, as well as a means of aiding 
its own work, the Sunday school should make an earnest effort 
to bring parents to recognize and accept their responsibility for 
teaching and training their children in religion. Always we should 
avoid giving the impression that the Sunday school assumes 
exclusive responsibility. Rather let us say to parents, "We are 
trying to help you in your work for your children." Many par- 
ents painfully feel their lack of qualifications for teaching their 
children. This gives the Sunday school an opportunity to enter 
into a helpful relationship. Let the parents be visited, counsel 



XX FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

kindly given, and the best printed helps in the way of periodicals 
and books recommended. 

3. RELATION OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOL 

The purpose of the public school is not foreign to religion. Stated 
in its highest terms, it may be said to be a religious purpose. The 
great educational reformer, Comenius, whose influence has been 
very potent in recent years, defined a school thus : 'T call that a 
school perfectly fulfilling its mission which is a place for the build- 
ing up of a genuine manhood ; where the spirit of the learner is 
baptized into the glory of knowledge and wisdom, quick to under- 
stand all things secret and revealed ; where the emotions of the 
soul are brought into harmony with all the virtues, the heart so won 
by the love of God and filled with it that it is possible for all who 
are intrusted to the school to be led into true wisdom and to be- 
come accustomed even here on earth to lead a heavenly life." The 
National Educational Association, a large and influential organiza- 
tion whose membership consists chiefly of those engaged in public 
school work, declared by resolution in 1905, ''The building of char- 
acter is the real aim of the schools, and the ultimate reason for the 
expenditure of millions for their maintenance." As never before 
it is now realized by educators that a symmetrical development 
of life requires ministry to physical, mental, moral, and religious 
needs. The separation of church and state in America has handi- 
capped moral and religious education, as such, in the public schools. 
It has not only banished dogmatic religious instruction ; it has 
caused all definite religious teaching to be frowned upon. In many 
parts of the country even the reading of the Bible without comment, 
and also prayer, are prohibited. The teaching of morals to be effec- 
tive must be reenforced by an appeal to the religious sentiments. 
Education with religion left out is barren and unfruitful. The only 
sure basis for character is religion. Without the undergirding of 
religious instruction the public school builds upon an uncertain 
foundation. The Sunday school is therefore necessary to the public 
school in order that the latter may do its perfect work. 

On the other hand, the Sunday school needs the help of the public 
school. The latter is a highly developed educational institution. 
It employs efficient educational methods. Since the Sunday school 
is engaged in an educational task it can learn much by observing 
the work of the public school. The interest of the pupil in his Sun- 
day school lessons may often be increased by bringing these lessons 
into relation with the work he is doing in day school. For this 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xxi 

reason the teacher will do well to keep himself constantly informed 
as to what his pupils are studying in the public school. It is very 
essential that no separation be made in the child's mind between 
religion and everyday life. Every possible connecting link should 
be forged between the religious teaching of Sunday and the week- 
day life and study. The child lives one life. He should be taught 
according to the highest conception of life and living in both schools, 
and the teaching so correlated that he cannot tell where one ends 
and the other begins. Each school without the other is incomplete. 
They should therefore cooperate to the fullest possible extent, in 
order that together they may accomplish their highest aim, the 
complete development of Christian character. 

4. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

(i) The Distinguishing Feature of Sunday School Activity. 

The Church has various departments, each with distinguishing 
features. The Sunday school is distinctively the teaching institu- 
tion of the Church. It seeks to develop the religious life and char- 
acter by teaching. We cannot have complete Christian character 
without intelligence upon the great principles and truths of religion. 
Christian people must know the fundamental moral laws which 
underlie all civilization ; they must be acquainted with the great 
religious conceptions of God's revelation to men ; they must have 
right ideas of God, of his nature and of his relations to men ; they 
must know of their duties to God and likewise the Christian teach- 
ing on social relations and duties ; the ideals for personal life given 
to the world in the life and teachings of Jesus must be made 
familiar to them. Religious devotion and enthusiasm is good, but 
it needs the broadening influence of religious knowledge to make 
it most effective. How may one be an efficient representative of 
Christianity if he knows nothing of the historical beginnings of the 
Christian religion, its antecedents, and its institutional development 
through the centuries? It is through the teaching of these su- 
premely important things that the Sunday school does its distinctive 
work. 

(2) The First Emphasis in Sunday School Activity. Since the 
distinguishing feature of the Sunday school as an institution is 
teaching, this should receive first emphasis. It is a school, and it 
cannot be a good school unless its teaching is well done. A big 
crowd does not constitute an efficient school ; instead, it may be a 
mob. Pious exhortation is not religious teaching, and cannot take 
the place of it. There are various common tests which are entirely 



xxii FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

superficial, even false criterions of Sunday school success. A Sun- 
day school may be the biggest in the town, its picnics or sociables 
may be the events of the year ; it may precede other schools in 
popularity and in half a dozen other ways, and yet it may entirely 
fail of being an efficient school. The Sunday school will be worthy 
of the name of a good school just in the measure in which it is able 
to secure good teaching. 

(3) The Larger Meaning of Teaching. By teaching we mean 
more than merely acquainting minds with facts. That in itself is a 
barren process. Teaching in the Sunday school must not be thought 
of as limited to instruction. It is not wholly an intellectual process. 
Rather it is to be understood as including all that a mature person 
can do in aiding the development of the immature, inspiring and 
stimulating them through example and fellowship, counsel and in- 
struction, and especially through the guidance and direction of 
action. It must be realized that there is no real impression of 
truth without corresponding expression in action. Even if knowl- 
edge of the truth without expression in deeds were a possibility, 
we should not be satisfied with that In our Sunday school work 
we demand the knowledge which influences life and molds action. 
We aim both to inform our pupils as to what it means to be 
Christians and to train them in Christian habits of life and conduct. 
Christianity is propagated not merely by imparting a knowledge of 
its precepts but by making Christians. We cannot do this unless 
our teaching reaches both understanding and will. Our pupils are 
not automatons ; they are free agents. We aim to secure not forced 
conduct but voluntary, free expression. The good Sunday school 
is both a school of instruction and a school of practice. 

(4) The Test of Effective Teaching. In the preceding chapter 
it became clear to us that in judging of the efficiency of a Sunday 
school it was necessary to look beyond the Sunday session and 
observe its boys and girls, its men and women, on the playground 
and on the street, in the homes and in the market place. The final 
test is in terms of personal character — What kind of perso'ns has the 
Sunday schooi helped its members to become? Do they fitly and 
loyally, in ideals and character, in conversation and conduct, repre- 
sent Jesus Christ? Education was never more potent than in our 
day in making men successful, as defined in the narrow sense of 
barter and sale ; the wits of men are sharpened to gain their ends 
in a larger way than ever before. But many men whom the world 
counts successful are complete failures judged by the standard pro- 
claimed by Jesus. State education makes men successful. Religious 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xxiii 

education must make them Christians. The efficiency of the 
Church's school is determined by this test and no other. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

Consider further the work of the Sunday school which 
you know best : Write answers to the following questions : 

1. What purposes seem to be dominant in the work of 
the school? 

2. What is the relation existing between the Church and 
the Sunday school? Can you suggest ways by which the 
Sunday school might be made more truly the school of the 
Church ? 

3. To what extent is the Sunday school cooperating with 
parents in the religious nurture of their children? 

4. Are the relations between the Sunday school and the 
public school sympathetic? To what extent do they work 
together ? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

What is education in the full, complete sense, in which 
sense it includes religious education? Some definitions are: 

''All true education culminates in character and is not, 
therefore, merely the cultivation of intelligence, but even 
more the affections, the moral judgment, and the will" 
(Pestalozzi). 

''Education is the training and development of all the 
powers of life to meet all the problems of life, and to 
realize all the possibilities of life." 

"Education is man's conscious cooperation with the In- 
finite Being in promoting the development of life ; it is the 
bringing of life in its highest form to bear upon life, in- 
dividual and social, that it may raise it to greater perfection, 
to ever-increasing potency" (Bishop Spaulding). 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

How is the Sunday school related to the Church? 

Is Christian religious instruction modern? 

Criticize "the children's Church" as a name for the Sunday school. 

Tell ^yhat you can of the use of the educational method by the Church. 

How is it related to evangelism? 

What conviction lies back of its use? Describe its spirit. 

Compare the Sunday school with other schools. 

What is the place of instruction in the Sunday school? 

What determines the subject matter used in Sunday school teaching? 

Why must the Sunday school have the cooperation of the home? 

How may the Sunday school work with the home? 



xxiv FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

How is the work of the public school related to religion? 

How, then, are the public school and the Sunday school related? 

How is the Sunday school chiefly to do its work? 

Why is it important that the Sunday school interest itself in the conduct 
and action of its members? 

What is the primary test of a good Sunday school? Its ultimate test? 

To what extent are we justified in allowing that the time of boys and girls 
is so occupied in public school work that it will not do to require real work 
of them in Sunday school? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Sunday School the School of the Church for All Ages. 

A.W.H.W. p. 22-'. 

2. The Sunday School and the Home. 

J.W.H.W. Chap. XIX. 

3. The Teaching Function of the Sunday School. 

A.W.H.W. p. 27^. 

4. The Measure of Sunday School Success. 

A.W.H.W. Chap. XII. 
II. In the Library 

1. Religious Instruction Before the Time of the Modern Sunday School. 

Pedagogical Bible School, Haslett, pp. 17-33. 

2. The Home as the Primary Agency of Religious Nurture. 

Religious Education in the Home, Folsom, p. 11 if. 

3. The School and the Church. 

The Modern Sunday School, Vincent, Chap. II. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER III 

THE CHILD AS THE SUBJECT OF RELIGIOUS 

EDUCATION 

L LESSON STATEMENT 

I. METHOD OF APPROACH 

(i) Lack of a Valid Method in the Past. Throughout the 
Hfetime of the Church there has been wide diversity of view of 
the child and of method of his treatment. Even to-day there is no 
general agreement of opinion as to the child's religious nature, and 
the best way of dealing with him. This has resulted from our 
method of approach to the subject. We have viewed child nature 
from the standpoint of doctrine. We dogmatized about the child 
instead of studying him. We went to bulky theological books, often 
the writings of priests and monks of pre-Reformation times, who 
had no children of their own, and we accepted as authoritative the 
statements handed down from them. If a doctrinal statement was 
called into question, and we wished to buttress our opinion, it seldom 
occurred to us to go to the child himself for confirmation of our 
view ; by force of long habit we went to our standard volume of 
systematic theology. We will never come to agreement by proceed- 
ing in this way. Here, again, we must observe the principle of the 
primacy of the person — we must go to the child himself for inforrna- 
tion. We must adopt Froebel's motto, "Come, let us live with our 
children," and we must be true to it until we have so fully ac- 
quainted ourselves with children that we know them through and 
through. Just to the extent that we discover the real child we shall 
be able to agree in our views of child nature. 

(2) The Scientific Method. The scientific method seeks first- 
hand information. Its use in the study of human beings has given 
rise among other sciences to psychology, the science of mind. As 
a branch of psychology we have paidology, or, as it is more com- 
monly known, child study, the science of the child. 

a. Psychology. Psychology concerns itself principally with the 
study of the mind and its processes. It discovers, describes, classi- 
fies, and seeks to explain the workings of the mind. In consider- 
ing the m_odes of the mind's activity it distinguishes three : the 
mind feels; the mind thinks; the mind wills. Corresponding to 

XXV 



xxvi FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

these, it treats of feeling, intellect, and will; yet it recognizes that 
the mind is not three but one. 

b. Child Study. Child study concerns itself with the study of 
the developing nature of the child. Numerous scholarly men, 
scientific observers trained in accuracy of method and exactness of 
observation and statement, have studied children and have set down 
the results of their study. Among the many advances of recent 
years none have had in them larger possibility of help to the reli- 
gious worker. The debt of the Church to the pioneers in the field 
of scientific child study is very great and should be thankfully 
acknowledged. It is not maintained that the study has as yet 
reached the stage of an exact science. On some lines the data which 
have been gathered are as yet insufficient upon which to base final 
conclusions, but more are constantly being gathered. As yet it is 
inevitable that there should sometimes be divergent, possibly even 
contradictory, statements. Nevertheless, rapid and most encourag- 
ing progress has been made toward accurate knowledge of child 
nature. 

Child study is a broad subject. It has to do with the child in 
every aspect of his being and in all of his relationships. Not for- 
getting that the child with his complex nature is a unit, we are 
chiefly concerned with him as a religious being. This narrower 
study is commonly called religions psychology. 

2. SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS 

(i) The Child as Psychology Finds Him. 

a. Native Instincts. Psychology finds the infant at the begin- 
ning of conscious life to possess a capacity to distinguish pleasur- 
able from painful sensations and to respond to each with bodily 
motions. He also has a few inherited instincts and appetites. All 
of the actions of the infant are instinctive. They are not willed or 
purposed. Every one is an automatic response to some stimulus. 
Consciousness looks on, but neither commands nor forbids. None 
can be rightly said to be either "good" or "bad" in an ethical sense. 
The appetites simply represent needs of the physical nature. To 
the psychologist they bear no badge of derangement or disability. 
As infancy passes, the germs of the faculties of perception and 
thought, previously hidden, reveal themselves by growth. The 
senses appear, rapidly strengthen, and crave expression. The child 
wants to taste and feel and see and hear and speak. He is in 
the grip of a wonderful power hidden within himself which is con- 
stantly pushing him on and out and up. He is "always yearning 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xxvii 

to be learning, anything at all." His desires and impulses and 
tendencies are neither evil nor good ; they are nonmoral ; but they 
are the raw material out of which good or evil, virtue or vice is 
certain ultimately to issue. 

b. The Evil Tendency in Human Nature. Natural appetites 
which have a function necessary to the life and well-being of the 
human organism have also possibilities of injury and evil if allowed 
to develop unregulated. Not only so ; as the child grows, tendencies 
manifest themselves which, unless they are held rigidly in check, 
will make for an evil character. The impulse which the child has, . 
for example, to defend himself and his possessions, if unregulated 
soon makes him quarrelsome, abusive, and tyrannical. This and 
other like impulses form the psychological bases for Plato's figure 
of the white and black steeds and for his observation, ''The horses 
of the soul's chariot pull different ways." Religious education must 
involve, constructive direction. 

c. Characteristics of the Child of Religious Significance. 
During early childhood characteristics are seen in the child which 
have special religious significance. The child endows the objects 
of his world with spirit and personality. He imputes to the things 
which he knows familiarly a life such as he himself possesses. The 
trees, the flowers, the doll, even the toy animal, possess life and 
feel as he feels. Further, he seeks a personal cause behind the 
objective world and his own life. Very early he seeks for a cause 
lying back of external manifestations. Thus the idea of a personal 
God seems to be almost naturally supplied him. Likewise it is 
believed by some thorough students of child nature that an instinct 
of immortality is native to the child. The notion of death as an 
end of life is foreign and unreal to him. Numerous other char- 
acteristics of childhood have profound religious significance. The 
child is eager to know. He asks numberless questions. He is 
affectionate and trustful. He readily responds to kindness, sym- 
pathy, and love. The words of Pestalozzi are significant : "These 
forces of the heart — faith and love — are in the formation of im- 
mortal man what the root is for the tree." Psychology iinds the 
little child to he a being in the process of becoming, with a capacity 
for moral character but at the same time with inherent possibilities 
of evil, and with a positive basis in his nature for religion. 

(2) The Findings of the Science of Religion. Wide research 
has found man to have been universally a religious being. It is 
human to be religious and something less than human not to be 
religious. Man is prone to seek God as the sparks fly upward. As 



xxviii FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Augustine said, "Thou hast made us for thyself, and our souls find 
no rest until they rest in thee." As a human being the child shares 
the religious inheritance of the race. As a latent element in the 
infant's nature there is that which is not only a capacity for reli- 
gion but a guarantee that in some degree and measure the developed 
being is bound to be religious. It is the work of religious nurture 
to bring the child into possession of his complete religious inherit- 
ance as a member of the human race. 

3. THE CHURCH AND THE CHH^D 

We have been viewing the child as the subject of scientific study. 
This investigation reveals him to be a person in process of becom- 
ing, with capacity for moral character, although withal with inher- 
ent possibilities of evil, and with certain characteristics of peculiar 
religious significance, and, moreover, by an inalienable law of his 
being, bound to be religious after some pattern. The question 
presents itself. Can the Church adjust its thought and practice to 
this conception of child nature ? Will the Church undertake in 
adequate measure to nurture and train this real child as he has 
thus been revealed? 

(i) Jesus's Teaching Concerning the Child. One good reason 
for an affirmative answer to this question is that more and more 
the Church is coming to take to heart the teaching of the Master 
concerning little children. There is no more beautiful picture in 
the Gospels than the scene wherein the mothers brought their 
little ones to the Saviour for his blessing. The words of the Master 
in rebuke of those who objected clearly define the relation of little 
children to the kingdom: "Suffer the little children to come unto 
me," he said, "and forbid them not : for of such is the kingdom bi 
God" (Mark 10. 14). "Of such" is a possessive. It is as if he 
had said of children, as he did of "the poor in spirit," "theirs is 
the kingdom." On another occasion the disciples disputed as to 
who should be greatest in the kingdom. "And Jesus called a little 
child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily 
I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, 
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18. 2, 3). 
That is, speaking to adults, he declared they must have the child 
spirit — be like children — or fail to enter the kingdom. Once let the 
teaching of the Master be appreciated at its full value, and accepted 
with all its implications, and the Church will realize that her great- 
est responsibility is for the nurture and training of childhood and 
youth. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xxix 

(2) The Changing Thought of the Church. Again, ever since 
Horace Bushnell wrote his epoch-making book, Christian Nurture, 
in 1847, the thought of the Church has been changing with regard 
to child nature, until the dominant Protestant teaching of to-day- 
provides an adequate theoretical basis for the work of religious edu- 
cation. Little children are now almost universally believed to be 
in a state of favor with God. The Holy Spirit is continually pres- 
ent in their hearts from earliest consciousness. Thus they have a 
germinal spiritual life which only needs proper nurture and develop- 
ment, and in time the assent of the free personal will, to become 
dominant. This all-important process is to be accomplished by 
means of the religious nurture of the child.^ 

(3) The Needs of the Child. What, now, are the needs of the 
child which the Church, through its Sunday school, should seek to 
supply? The answer to this question as here given is in the nature 
of a preview of that which will be presented more fully in the 
lessons in which we study the child in the different periods of his 
development. 

I. He Needs an Ideal Environment. Early childhood is pre- 
eminently a time of impression and absorption. The impressions 
the child receives tend to find expression and thus to become a part 
of himself. One of the first determinative factors in his life, there- 



^A statement of this view, by Dr. J. T. McFarland, which because of its 
strength and clearness should become a classic in the literature of the subject, 
is as follows: 

"Christ meets the soul with his redemptive grace the moment it touches upon 
the shores of time; and every child born into this world comes into life under 
the healing shadow of the cross. Only upon that supposition was Jesus him- 
self justified in saying of little children, 'Of such is the kingdom of heaven.' 
If the child is alienated from God and is in the bonds of iniquity from the 
beginning, he cannot be regarded as in any sense representing God's kingdom 
of holiness. Consequently, I insist that we shall begin with the child where 
Christ began with him and recognize him as a child of God and treat him as 
such. . . . And this faith in the standing of the child in God's kingdom is 
basal in religious education. . . . Education is not creation. We must have 
the raw materials upon which to work. And education deals not with dead 
but living things. The physical trainer must have a living body with which 
to work. A corpse should be sent to the cemetery, not to the gymnasium. 
The educator of mind must have a living mind, having capacity for receiving 
knowledge, and powers and faculties capable of being drawn out and exercised 
. . . Religious education assumes the existence of a living soul having spiritual 
faculties, a nature capable of moral perception and understanding and action. 
A dead soul, if we can conceive of such a thing, may be an interesting sub- 
ject for theological autopsy and dissection, but not for religious education. 
This thought is fundamental to our work as religious educators. The Sunday 
school is not a morgue but a school that deals with spiritual life. The soul 
does not come into the world spiritually stillborn, but alive, having in it all 
the latencies of immortality, holding an infolded life capable of infinite un- 
folding into spiritual strength and beauty. Let no theological mists obscure 
this fact. Our work in religious education begins with life and deals always 
with spiritual vitalities. The children whom God has given us are the living 
children of the living God. Christ declared that they belonged to his king- 
dom; he called them his lambs, and he commands us to feed them. Not 
the dead, but the living may be fed." 



XXX FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

fore, is his environment. Of all persons the little child may most 
truthfully say, "I am a part of all I have met." Thus a chief 
service to be rendered him consists in making his environment 
and associations as nearly ideal from the religious standpoint as 
possible. The home must be reached and the importance of their 
example impressed upon the parents. Attention must also be given 
to the choice of associates. 

2. His Religious Feelings Need to Be Nurtured. The feelings 
are an important and influential element in the life. Says President 
Eliot : "The w^orld is still governed by sentiments and not by obser- 
vation, acquisition, and reasoning. National greatness and right- 
eousness depend more on the cultivation of right sentiments in 
children than on anything else." The child is capable of religious 
feelings long before he is capable of religious thought. His early 
sense of dependence, the beginnings of love and trust, his natural 
av^e and reverence must be fostered. We are to recognize that he 
is helped religiously by whatever satisfies the hunger of his reli- 
gious feelings. 

3. He Needs Guidance in His Early Choices. The beginnings 
of will need to be carefully watched over. Here, as in the matter 
of providing a right environment, the Sunday school can be only a 
poor substitute for the Christian home, but it can do much for the 
child who does not have the kind of a home he ought to have. The 
problem is, How may the child be so trained that he may come 
habitually to cherish and develop his good impulses, to hold in check 
and subdue his impulses which lead to evil, and to exercise his 
powers of choice in behalf of the right? Sin for a child becomes 
possible only when he has come to distinguish between right and 
wrong, and of his own will chooses to do wrong. The years of 
early childhood are especially important because within them are 
the springs of habitual action. The foundation must be laid early 
in habitual right choices if the building is to be of right character. 

4. His Intellect Needs to Be Informed. Soon after the child 
enters the Primary Department of the Sunday school, if not before, 
his school life begins. His mental horizon widens rapidly. He 
thinks more for himself. His stock of ideas increases with great 
rapidity. He now asks, not so much "what" as "why." He takes 
his toys to pieces to see how they are made. He makes investiga- 
tions on his own account. Reasoning begins to develop. He needs 
the instruction of the religious school, the religious answers to his 
many questions. His growing intellectual life needs the kind of 
mental food that will strengthen his good impulses. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xxxi 

5. His Activities Need to Be Directed. Instruction will cer- 
tainly fail unless the child is aided in giving expression to the reli- 
gious lessons v^hich we wish him to learn. Truth to be made a 
part of character must be given hands and feet. No matter how 
clearly the pupil may understand its abstract statement, he makes 
it a part of himself only by putting it into action. There can be 
no real teaching if the teacher confines his effort to a thirty-minute 
lesson session once a week. The child's life is a life of action and 
the teacher must find things for him to do which express the truth. 
Only as he becomes a doer of the truth does it become his own. 

6. His Social Self Needs to Be Awakened. He is to live in 
a world of persons, and he cannot live to himself. The all-inclusive 
commandment of the gospel is that of love. To be a Christian is 
to share the life of God, and to share one's own life in the unselfish, 
loving, personal service of men. Here, again, the home is of first 
importance, and the public school can do much ; but the Sunday 
school also has a work to perform. 

7. He Needs Personal Assistance in the Life of Struggle. 
The child is born into a world of moral struggle. As we have 
seen, his nature is such that it is certain to become a battle ground. 
Evil influences from without and ill-directed and undirected im- 
pulses from within force an early beginning of the conflict. We 
have thus far been considering the normal child ; that is, of normal 
inheritance of appetites from his forefathers. In many cases, how- 
ever, the child is cursed by heredity with abnormal appetites and 
subnormal powers of mind and will. Here the conflict is destined 
to be long and severe. By example and precept, by appeal to the 
natural moral and religious impulses, by awakening those that are 
dormant and cultivating those that have been awakened, by stim- 
ulating and aiding right conduct, and, above all, by personal sym- 
pathy and fellowship, the Sunday school may mightily assist on the 
side of a moral and religious life. 

(4) The Supreme Service of the Church. The Church per- 
forms its supreme service for the child by revealing the Heavenly 
Father and the Saviour to him. His religious needs in their 
totality are met as in no other way by making known to him the 
love and care of the Father, and acquainting him with the life, grace, 
and power of the Saviour, his everpresent Friend and Helper. 

S. THE CERTAIN HOPE 

In its work of the religious nurture of the child the Church, if the 
home and society give it anything like a fair chance, has certain 



xxxii FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

hope of success. There is no other part of its work in which the 
Church may engage in such sure confidence as this. The law of 
progress upward is written in the very nature of the child. God 
is on the side of the Sunday school. Or, better, the Sunday school 
which understands its work to be that of assisting the religious 
development of the pupil is at work with God. It is on God's side. 
He who works with God cannot fail. 

II. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"Not in entire forgetfulness. 
And not in utter nakedness, 
But trailing clouds of glory, do we come 
From God, who is our home : 
Heaven lies about us in our infancy." 

— William Wordsworth. 

1. Jesus's teaching on child nature: ''Suffer the little 
children to come unto me, and forbid them not : for of 
such is the kingdom of God" (Mark lo. 14). 

2. Needs of the child which the Sunday school seeks to 
supply: (a) An Ideal Environment; (b) Nurture of the 
Religious Feelings; (c) Guidance in Early Choice's; 
(d) Mind Informed; (e) Direction of Activities; (f) Per- 
sonal Assistance in Moral Struggle; (g) Above all, Ac- 
quaintanceship with the Father and with the Saviour. 

III. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What is the teaching of Jesus concerning children and the kingdom? 

What is the present dominant Protestant teaching concerning children? 

Describe the child as psychology finds him. 

How may moral evil arise in the child? 

Name some characteristics of the child which are of religious significance. 

Why may we be sure that the little child is in some degree religious? 

Why is it important that the environment of the child should be good? 

What is the significance of early choices? 

What is to be said about the nurture of the feelings? 

What service has the Sunday school to perform in th.e way of instruction? 

Is the child likely to have an easy time in living a right life? 

Why may we work in certain hope of success? 

IV. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Religious Nature of the Child. 

S.W.H.W. pp. 156-158. 

2. The Religious Life of Little Children. 

E.W.H.W. Chap. X. 
II. In the Library 

1. The Child and Theology. 

Education in Religion and Morals, Coe, Chap. IV. 

2. The Child and Religion. 

Psychological Principles of Education, Home, pp. 343f. 

3. The Child and the Church. 

The Child as God's Child, Rishell, Chap. VII. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER IV 

THE PLACE OF THE BIBLE IN RELIGIOUS 
EDUCATION 

L LESSON STATEMENT 

Of all the books in the world one book holds, by unanimous con- 
sent of all the foremost nations, a place of unique preeminence. 
This appears in the reverence and respect in which it is held, in the 
extent of its circulation, in the number of other books based upon 
it, and in its influence upon the heart and the life, testified to by 
many of the most intelligent as well as the most devout of men. 
Sir Walter Scott spoke the world's mind when in his dying hour, 
having indicated his wish for a book and being asked what book 
he desired, he replied : "There is but one book. Give me the Bible." 

I. THE PREEMINENCE OF THE BIBLE 

The preeminent place of the Bible as the principal source of 
lesson material in religious education is undisputed. It is well that 
we consider some of its qualities, by right of which it holds this 
place. 

(i) It is a Literature of Power. We owe to De Quincey the 
distinction that the Bible is a literature of power rather than of 
information. We go to it not so much for facts as for inspira- 
tion for the highest living. The world is full of books of informa- 
tion, but there is only one book of life. It has been said that "the 
Hebrews had a genius for finding the truth to live by." The Bible 
is a depository of the truth, just that kind of truth which childhood 
and youth and old age need as a preparation for full and complete 
living; but to say this is not enough. There is truth — truth valu- 
able for life, and much of it in creeds and in textbooks on ethics 
and theology. But the Bible is more. In it and through it a life 
breathes which gives it a potency, quick and powerful, the like of 
which no other book possesses. It was given that we might have 
life, and it has a power in developing life, unique and peculiar to 
itself. 

(2) Its Personalities Are the Greatest. The most significant 
element in religious training is personal influence. We must depend 
more upon the contagion of character than upon precepts. Nowhere 
else can we find brought together in a single company such a group 

xxxiii 



xxxiv FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

of great religious personalities. The men of the Bible are the 
generals and the captains of the religious history of the race. To 
become intimately acquainted with them is in itself a religious 
education. Says Professor Rhees : "The response of a soul to 
another soul is the most powerful means of calling out a living 
religious experience. The fact that the Bible brings us into close 
contact with the most significant religious experiences of the god- 
liest human beings makes it second only to such personal contact 
with a soul that walks with God, the best means of awakening in a 
child those personal responses to the thought of God, of duty, and 
of destiny, which m.ake actual religion." 

The people of the Bible offer us an intimacy of acquaintanceship 
which it is our privilege to have with few others. They withhold 
no secrets of their hearts from us. The depths of their lives are 
revealed. They offer frank, hearty, and sincere witness to the 
source of their joys and their blessings. Through their testimony 
the way is opened to us to share their experiences. 

(3) In it the Moral and Religious Element is Supreme. The 
Bible is distinguished from all other ancient books by its passion 
for righteousness. Throughout the Old Testament there is a con- 
stantly developing moral sense. The climax is reached in the 
Gospels, in which are given to the world moral and ethical ideals 
surpassing anything to be found elsewhere in literature. As reli- 
gious literature the preeminence of the Bible is, if possible, even 
more marked. It is the one religious classic of the race ; the world's 
transcendent religious literature. There are other religious writ- 
ings, some ancient, some modern, which because of their surpass- 
ing quality the world will not let die, but these occasional master- 
pieces only serve as standards by which to estimate the superior 
extent and inspiration of the Scriptures. 

(4) It is Wonderfully Adapted to the Varied Requirements 
of Religious Education. This may be shown by a brief statement 
of some of its characteristics : 

a. Variety. Any book to be in a large way serviceable in reli- 
gious education must have emotion or imagination or inspiration of 
thought or compelling interest. The Bible has all of these in 
supreme measure. It has food for the intellect, it stirs the great 
deeps of the heart, it stimulates the will. It is "an open door into 
a world where emotion is expressed, where imagination can range, 
where love and longing find a language, where imagery is given to 
every noble and suppressed passion of the soul, where every aspira- 
tion finds wings." 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xxxv 

b. Simplicity. The Bible treats of the highest things, of truth 
most profound, but does both in the most simple way. It speaks 
of time and eternity, of duty and destiny, of sin and salvation, of 
humanity and divinity, but it speaks always with clear, limpid sim- 
plicity. Says McFadyen : 'Tt is like the simple, unaffected speech of 
a man to his friend. The Bible comes from a land and from a time 
when life was more simple than it is with us to-day, and it does one 
good to get back to the simple words of the ancient men. These 
simple words possess the power of piercing the heart, of making 
us stop, and look, and listen." 

c. CoNCRETENESs. The truth the Bible teaches is expressed in 
concrete terms. We are all interested in people, and this is espe- 
cially true of boys and girls. Whenever a situation is personified 
the narrative becomes interesting. The Bible is a book of persons. 
The fourth Gospel says of Jesus: /'The Word was made flesh and 
dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory." Commenting upon this 
statement, McFadyen says : "In the Bible the word is always becom- 
ing flesh. Truth is continually being brought before us in such a 
way that we can see it with our eyes. The Bible is always saying, 
'Behold !' It not merely tells us about truth, but shows it in action, 
in flesh and blood, with all the glow and color of life. It presents 
us with truth that we can see, and that therefore we ourselves can 
be, or, at any rate, aspire to." Was there ever another book so 
rich in illustrations as the Bible? All nature is levied upon for 
tribute. The commonest things of earth, as the most exalted, are 
made to do duty in bearing the messages of the Most High. The 
mountain, the storm, the star, the flower, the birds of the air, the 
beasts of the field, even the rocks of the earth become his mes- 
sengers, ever speaking a language which all can understand. 

These characteristics make the Bible a hook for all ages. As has 
often been said, it is in a peculiar sense a child's book. Its stories 
and its parables, its narratives of action full of dramatic power, its 
child characters guarantee that it will never cease to be attractive 
to children, even to the thousandth generation. Quite as often 
it has been declared to be a book for old age. Its assurance of 
God, its abounding comfort, its vivid and real portrayals of the 
heavenly home, make it to be such. In a remarkable way it meets 
the needs of all — the child, the youth, the man, the aged. Consider- 
ing the question of the lessons needed for the various periods of 
life, S. B. Haslett, says : "The Bible is a wonderbook for the small 
child ; a storybook for the large child ; a biography and history for 
the boy and girl ; a book of adventure, successes, and morals for 



xxxvi FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

early youth ; a record of ideals, reforms, and struggles for late 
youth ; a guide in religion and ethics for the homemaker ; a com- 
fort and help for those who have important decisions to make ; and 
a consolation and a refuge for the troubled and the oppressed." ^ 

2. THE SERVICE OF THE BIBLE TO THE INDIVIDUAL 

Let us consider now the service which the Bible may be expected 
to render to the individual, when it is given an opportunity fairly 
to perform its part. 

(i) It Imparts a Body of Religious Knowledge Not Gained 
Elsewhere. We have in the Old Testament the religious history 
of a nation. It is the most instructive history to be found in liter- 
ature. It is unique in that it is a religious history. While children 
study the history of many nations, ancient and modern, in the public 
schools, the study of this history is left entirely to the Sunday 
schools. But the Old Testament is more than the history of a 
nation ; it traces the development of the kingdom of God on earth. 
Besides, we have in the Old Testament the Sacred Law, the moral 
and religious teachings of the prophets, the writings of Wisdom — 
the foundation of Christianity — a knowledge of which is to be 
gained nowhere else than from the Bible. The New Testament 
contains the Gospels, the early history of the Church and the teach- 
ings of the apostles. Without some grasp of this wonderful body 
of knowledge it is impossible for anyone to live a truly Christian 
life. 

(2) It Quickens and Empowers the Moral and Religious Life. 
The Bible has material for moral instruction and training, the equal 
of which cannot be found elsewhere. It is singularly effective in 
character-formation. The moral and ethical principles necessary 
to righteous living are clearly and strongly presented. Its examples 
stir the emotions and stimulate the will. Its precepts, and espe- 
cially its showing forth of the inner life of religious men — their spir- 
itual yearnings, their aspirations, their cries of repentance, their 
assurance of God, the triumphs of their faith — all are material upon 
which the religious instincts may feed and grow. Sabatier speaks 
with moderation when he exclaims : "What other book like this 
can awaken dumb or sleeping consciences, reveal the secret needs 
of the soul, sharpen the thorn of sin, and press its cruel point upon 
us, tear away our delusions, humiliate our pride, and disturb our 
false serenity? What sudden lightnings it shoots into the abysses 



^The Bible in Practical Life, p. 234. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xxxvii 

of our hearts ! What searchings of conscience are like those which 
we make by this light?" 

(3) It Acquaints us with Jesus. The Bible centers in Jesus 
Christ. He is its central Sun, "who holds together all its various 
parts." It is from the Bible that we gain practically all that we 
know of him. In this is an inestimable service. Our task is to 
prepare our pupils for complete living, to develop in them their 
highest possibilities. How, then, shall we measure the service of 
that book which acquaints them with him who spake as never man 
spake before, who gave to all life its permanent ideals and inspira- 
tion, in whose character even his foes could find no fault? Our 
effort is to direct activity in right ways, to lead our pupils in lov- 
ing, helpful service to men. Where can such inspiration be gained 
for this as in viewing the life of him who went about doing good, 
whose whole ministry was one of unselfish service, who gave him- 
self for men? To become acquainted with him, to accept his prof- 
fered friendship, to follow him in sincere discipleship is to attain 
the supreme goal. How would this be possible without the New 
Testament? 

(4) It Reveals God to Us. The Bible is God's Word, the 
revealing message which shows God to men. The Bible is a reli- 
gious literature ; but to say that alone is insufficient. It makes clear 
the participation of God in the affairs of men and of nations ; it 
tears away the veil which in our everyday life hides the hand of 
the Almighty, and we see God, Thus the Bible makes God real, 
brings him into our very lives, establishes him in his rightful place 
in human life and in the world. And the Bible does this in a way 
and to a degree which no other literature does or can do. "No man 
cometh unto the Father but by me," said Jesus. As the Bible is 
the revelation of God, and as it brings to us Jesus's unveiling of 
the Father, so it might say, "No man knoweth God, and no man 
cometh unto the Father but by me." 

Again and again it has been demonstrated that the Bible is, as 
the apostle says, "the sword of the Spirit." In a unique way it is 
the instrument of the Spirit; instinct with his own energy, owned 
and used by him in convicting, converting, sanctifying, comforting, 
inspiring human souls. 

3. THE SERVICE OF THE BIBLE TO THE RACE 

We can properly appreciate the place of the Bible in religious 
education only as we understand, not alone what it is able to do for 
the individual, but what it has done for the race. Through many 



xxxviii FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

centuries it has had a large part in the education of the world. 
The service which it renders to-day is larger than ever before 
because it is more universally circulated than in any previous time. 
One Bible Society alone now prints the Scriptures in three hun- 
dred and fifty languages. Its vitality as an educational force may 
be estimated from the fact that many of these languages have been 
reduced to writing simply in order that they might thus become 
the means of acquainting their users with the Bible. A widely 
known college president declares that the Bible is the greatest single 
educating power in the modern world. Its service to civilization 
is thus stated by Marcus Dods : "Many writers of various disposi- 
tions testify that the Bible has everywhere nourished the best life 
that has been known on earth. ... It has been the spring of the 
highest aspirations men have cherished and the ripest character 
they have attained. ... In every generation it has served for 
the healing of the nations, lying at the root of all progress, and 
insisting upon a finer and purer civilization." ^ 

If the question should be raised why the Bible has the chief place 
in the Sunday school, the answer, in the light of our discussion, 
would be in terms of its supreme value as a means of doing the 
work for which the Sunday school exists. We teach the Bible not 
so much because the Church in centuries past has believed it to be 
an inspired book as because it has proved, and continues to prove 
itself, to be inspiring. Among all sorts and conditions of men, of 
all ages, in lands diverse and widely scattered, through long cen- 
turies and yet to-day, these writings which we call the Holy 
Scriptures have proven their power to create character, to lead men 
into fellowship with God, to inspire to sacrificial service, to impart 
inner peace and tranquillity of spirit, to give courage and com- 
fort in danger and in death. To the extent that the Bible demon- 
strates its superiority in these ways we are warranted in continuing 
to give to it the supreme place in religious education through the 
Sunday school. 

II. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"Word of life, most pure and strong, 
Lo ! for thee the nations long ; 
Spread till from its dreary night 
All the world awakes to light." 



^The Bible, Its Origin and Nature, p. 21. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING xxxix 

III. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

How is the preeminence of the Bible evidenced? 

Enumerate some of the qualities of the Bible which give it preeminence in 
religious education. 

In what ways is the Bible "a literature of power"? 

What significance attaches to the fact that the Bible has many great 
personalities? 

What can you say of the moral and religious element in the Bible? 

Give characteristics of the Bible showing its adaptability to the needs of 
religious education. 

What religious knowledge does the Bible alone impart? 

Describe how the Bible quickens and empowers the moral and religious life. 

Estimate the service of the Bible in acquainting us with Jesus. 

What is the supreme revelation of the Bible? 

Tell of the service of the Bible to the race. 

Sum up in a few words your reasons for teaching the Bible in the Sunday 
school. 

IV. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In The Worker and His Work Series 

1. Why study the Bible. 

W.H.B. pp. 35-38. 

2. The Unique Religious Value of the Bible. 

W.H.B. pp. 38-44. 
II. In the Library. 

1. The Bible and Other Sacred Books. 

The Bible, Its Origin and Nature, Dods, Chap. I. 

2. The Nature and Purpose of the Old Testament. 

The Origin and Permanent Value of the Old Testament, Kent, 
Chap. II. 

3. Modern Uses of Ancient Scripture, 

The Educational Ideal in the Ministry, Faunce, Chap. III. 



SECTION I— THE BIBLE 

CHAPTER I 

THE TEACHER'S STUDY OF THE BIBLE 
I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. WHY THE TEACHER MUST STUDY THE BIBLE 

The Bible will continue to be, what it has always been, the chief 
textbook of religious instruction for the Sunday school. Occasional 
courses, not directly based upon it, may be used, but they will not dis- 
place the Bible. In view of this fact, it is clear that the Sunday 
school teacher must be a Bible teacher. No one can teach what he 
himself does not know. If one is to be a teacher of the Bible, he 
must first be a student of the Bible. 

2. THE IMPORTANCE OF REAL STUDY 

There is no royal road to the mastery of the Bible. Here, as 
in any other field of learning, application and effort are necessary. 
The Bible, its nature and constitution, its significance and supreme 
teachings, "must be brought into relationship with the human mind 
through the same channels of sense, intellectual perception, reason- 
ing processes, and emotional response," as all other subjects which 
are studied. If the Bible is to be really understood, its truths appro- 
priated, its teachings passed on to others, there must be earnest, 
sincere effort invested in study. 

Much of what has passed for Bible study has not been study at 
all. There have been those who have read the Bible through from 
beginning to end, over and over, until many of its words and 
sentences have become familiar, who have never given an hour 
altogether to 'real Bible study. Mere Bible reading is not Bible 
study. The memorizing of Bible verses, while it is an excellent 
exercise, of which much good may be said, can hardly be called 
Bible study. Studying about the Bible, the number and names 
of its books, the dates of chief events and the location of important 
places — even this is not in itself Bible study, though it is exceed- 
ingly important as a preparation for intelligent study. It might be 
possible for one to learn every pertinent fact about the Bible and its 
books without coming either to know or to appreciate the value of 
its profound, unique, and life-giving teachings. 

I 



2 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

3. PRESUPPOSITIONS OF FRUITFUL STUDY 
(i) A Right Spirit. First of all, it is necessary that one 
approach the study of the Bible in the right spirit. The quest 
involves issues among the most important known to man; the 
student must be earnest. A light, frivolous spirit is incapable of 
appreciating the height and depth, the length and breadth of the 
supreme truths contained in the Book. The Spirit shows his mind 
to those who are spiritual. The study is for the purpose of appre- 
hending a revelation; the student must have an inquiring mind 
and heart. A self-sufficient spirit effectually bars the way against 
the entrance of the truth. Jesus asked for disciples, that is, 
learners. The search is for truths which it took the race ages to 
learn; the student must he persevering. The Bible unfolds its 
message to the tireless searcher for truth. The gospel presents to 
men a way of life, a program so simple and so easily understood 
that the man who wills to walk in it "though a fool, shall not err 
therein." But it should be also realized that there are many 
related questions treated by the various biblical writers from differ- 
ent standpoints, subjects the most profound, which if the Bible is 
to be understood must be diligently studied. The earnest student 
of inquiring mind who studies the Bible perseveringly will find it 
a mine of untold wealth from which precious ore may be unceas- 
ingly dug. 

(2) A Right Method. It may be said of any study that the 
secret of success in it lies in the apprehension and use of a right 
method. For Bible students there could be no more important 
question than how to study the Bible. There have been many ear- 
nest persons who have given intense thought and prolonged effort 
to the study of the Bible and gained only distorted notions 
of what the Bible teaches because of the use of a wrong method of 
study. Others have studied it only to be misled in conduct. Jesus 
spoke of those whose study of the Old Testament had failed to 
direct them to the living Word : "Ye search the Scriptures, . . . 
and they are they which testify of me. (Yet) ye will not come to 
me, that ye might have life." It is to be noted that the verb 
which Jesus used denotes a minute, intense investigation of Scrip- 
ture. It behooves us to invoke the wisest and highest counsel in 
our choice of methods of Bible study. 

(3) Some Good Equipment. It is of great assistance to fruitful 
Bible study to have a few good aids in the way of equipment. 
First in importance is the right sort of copy of the Bible itself. 
Do not try to get along with a cheap Bible. You can afford to 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 3 

skimp almost anywhere else rather than in this. Some essentials 
of a really good Bible are : an approved text, in clear type of fair 
size, on fine quality thin paper, with wide margins, strongly bound 
in durable leather. Such a Bible will cost several dollars, but with 
careful usage will last a lifetime. We recommend for purposes of 
study the Standard Edition of the American Revised Version. 
Margins of the page should be wide so as to admit making notes in 
a fine hand. 

Next, is a good Bible dictionary. Of these several, representative 
of the ablest Bible study of our times, have been published in recent 
years. Almost as necessary as a dictionary is a commentary. 
Fortunately, there is now available an excellent one-volume com- 
mentary on the entire Bible. It would be well to begin with this. 
The earnest Bible student will not be content with this, but will 
add from time to time commentaries on the separate books of the 
Bible. These should be chosen on the advice of some one familiar 
with the best works. 

The absolute essentials have now been named. Those who pur- 
pose to continue the study of the Bible and who are situated so 
they can do so will want to secure a concordance, and books on 
such subjects as prophecy, the wisdom literature, Old Testament 
history, the life of Christ, the teaching of Jesus, history of the 
apostolic age, the life and teaching of Paul, and the historical 
geography of the Holy Land. 

(4) Leisure is Not Necessary. Many have allowed themselves 
to fall into the mistaken notion that only persons of leisure can 
become good Bible students. This is a most unfortunate error. 
The fact is that some of the ablest Bible students of the past have 
been men and women whose occupations demanded the closest and 
most constant application to daily tasks. The farmer whose hours 
of toil are long, the house mother busied with many cares, the 
mechanic or bookkeeper tied to machine or desk, may become an 
animated commentary, capable of the exposition of Bible truth such 
as many a pastor might well envy. It can he done through the 
systematic use of fragments of time. No man or woman in our 
day need be, or ought to be, a slave to his daily task. Some few 
moments of time from the busiest day may be claimed for the 
study of God's Word. The essential thing is that a small amount 
of time be wisely used in a systematic manner. Let the Christian 
make this a matter of conscience, saying to himself, 'T ought to be 
a capable student of God's Word." Let him then find a proper 
method of study and rigorously apply himself to its use, and in time 



4 FIRST STANi;)ARD MANUAL 

he will show himself "approved unto God, a workman that needeth 
not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth," 

4. THE APPROACH TO AND THE METHODS OF BIBLE STUDY 

(i) Introduction to Bible Study. Preliminary to actual study 
of the Bible itself there are certain related questions which must 
be asked and answered. These are, for the most part, ques- 
tions of time and place, of origin and history, of general signifi- 
cance and purpose. The Bible, we shall find, is not one book, but a 
library of many separate books. The actual study of the Bible at 
any one time must therefore be largely the study of some book of 
the Bible. But in order that we may study any one book intelli- 
gently it is important that we be in possession of certain general 
facts concerning the whole Bible, its great divisions, its people, its 
times, and the course of history of which its making formed a part. 

This course of lessons is to a considerable extent exactly that 
which we have just described. It is not so much Bible study as 
it is a preparation for Bible study. It aims, however, to combine 
study about the Bible with actual study of the Bible itself. Its 
object is to give a perspective of the Bible as a whole, which will 
better prepare the student both to study and to teach the different 
parts of the Bible. It purposes to give an outline of the history 
which forms the background of Biblical events and the careers of 
the biblical characters ; to place those events and characters in the 
course of the history ; to properly relate the various parts of the 
Bible to one another, and to familiarize the student with the process 
of the unfolding of the divine revelation which reached its culmina- 
tion in the life, death, and words of Jesus Christ. 

Biblical introduction, proper, goes much farther than what is 
attempted in this brief, elementary course. It involves, for example, 
an exact study of the various forms of literature contained in the 
Bible, together with a consideration of the principles of interpreta- 
tion to be used in each case as determined by the particular literary 
form. It involves, again, the study of each separate book to deter- 
mine when, by whom, to whom, under what circumstances, and for 
what purposes it was written, together with a consideration of the 
bearing of all these facts upon the message which the book contains. 

(2) Study of the Bible by Books. As already intimated the 
most valuable method of Bible study, especially for a thorough 
understanding of the teachings of the Bible, is a study of separate 
books. Each writer has his own individuality. The message of each 
is conditioned in some measure by the time, place, and circum- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 5 

stances of its writing, and by the profession, training, and purpose 
of the author. Each book is a unit. Any one verse or paragraph 
can be best understood in the light of the whole book. The study 
of books will be found to yield results of the largest personal value, 
and it will insure against mistakes and misinterpretations likely to 
accompany some other kinds of Bible study. 

(3) Topical Study. A favorite method of Bible study in the 
past has been the study of topics such as faith, love, holiness. 
Under proper conditions, this may be an enlightening and very 
helpful form of study. It must be said, however, that it is subject 
to grave abuses. If it is thoroughgoing, discriminating, and 
thoughtful, if it examines each related word for the significance and 
meaning attached to it at different epochs and by different writers, 
it will yield valuable results. If it is merely the careless and indis- 
criminate heaping together of verses from all parts of the Bible 
merely because these verses happen to contain the same word, 
it is likely to be confusing, misleading, and vicious in its results. 
This latter method of scurrying through the Bible to pick up proof 
texts in support of some preconceived notion of what the Bible 
teaches has been the means of much troublesome mischief, and even 
permanent detriment to the cause of Christ. 

(4) Literary Study. There are certain books of the Bible, more 
especially the Wisdom books, and Psalms, Lamentations, Esther, 
Ruth, and Isaiah, which will be more truly and highly appreciated as 
religious books if they are also studied as literature. These books 
contain some of the finest and most sublime passages, considered 
from a purely literary standpoint, to be found anywhere in the 
world's literature. Their study as literature will aid in understand- 
ing their messages as well as in the artistic appreciation of them. 

(5) The Bible as a Book of Devotion. We have been speak- 
ing of close, intense study of the Bible. Such study cannot but 
be of immense value to the inner life. It will feed the springs of 
religious devotion ; it will bring the student into the presence of 
God ; it will nurture fellowship with the Divine ; it will create high 
ideals for life ; it will quicken conscience and inspire religious 
activity. The student will be enriched in unrealized ways by it. 
But, in addition to the study of the Bible by such methods as have 
been mentioned, the Bible ought to be regularly read as a book of 
devotion. Every Bible lover knows parts of the Bible especially 
adapted to such reading — the Psalms, sections of the Prophets, the 
Gospels, and choice chapters from Paul's epistles. In this reading 
of the Word in quiet meditative moments, in the attitude of waiting 



6 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

upon God, there will come, by the ministry of the Spirit, spiritual 
inspiration, high aspirations, the purifying of motives, the strength- 
ening of altruistic purposes, the satisfaction of heart needs, and 
direction and guidance in the duties of every day. 

Then let us, as those who are to be teachers in the things of 
God, be diligent students of his Word. Let us form the habit, of 
regular, systematic, persistent Bible study. The course on which 
you have now begun is merely an introductory study ; it is in no 
sense complete or exhaustive ; it is designed to prepare the student 
in some measure for Bible teaching, but it is also hoped that it will 
create a desire and appetite for further and more thorough Bible 
study. 

IL MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Principal Divisions of the Bible: Old Testament and 
New Testament. 

2. Number of Books: In the entire Bible, 66; in the Old 
Testament, 39; in the New Testament, 27. 

3. Names of the Books in Order : Old Testament — Genesis, 
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 
Ruth, I Samuel, 2 Samuel, i Kings, 2 Kings, i Chronicles, 
2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Prov- 
erbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, 
Jonah, A'licah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, 
Zechariah, Malachi. New Testament — Matthew, Mark, 
Luke, John, Acts, Romans, i Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, 
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, i Thess., 2 
Thess., I Timothy, 2 Tim., Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 
I Peter, 2 Peter, i John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation. 

in. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Why should the Sunday school teacher study the Bible? 

What is to be said of study about the Bible? 

Why is it necessary that one approach the study of the Bible in the right spirit? 

What is the importance of a right method in Bible study? 

What aids to Bible study is it essential to have? 

What is the chief essential in the matter of time ? 

How would you describe the purposes of this course of Bible study? 

Why is the study of the Bible by books of so great importance and value? 

Discuss the value of the topical study of the Bible. Of literary study. 

IV. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Importance of Real Study of the Bible. 

D.C. p. cxxxvii^. 

2. Topical Study of the Bible. 

D.C. p. cxxxvii^. 

3. Devotional Study. 

D.C. p. cxxxviii'. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 



CHAPTER II 

THE BIBLE— A GENERAL VIEW 
L LESSON STATEMENT 

I. THE BIBLE 
(i) Names. A number of different titles are applied to the Bible. 

a. The Bible. The word "Bible" comes to us from a Greek 
term, ta biblia (meaning "the little books"), used after the begin- 
ning of the Christian era, sometimes for the Old Testament, s-ome- 
times for both Old and New Testaments. "Bible," being a singular 
noun, 'has given rise to much confusion of thought, inasmuch as it 
seems to indicate that it is one book, whereas in truth it is a library 
of many books. 

b. The Holy Scriptures. This name, written also "The Scrip- 
tures," "The Sacred Scriptures," is the one commonly used by the 
New Testament writers in referring to the Old Testament (Rom. 
I. 2; John 5. 39; Luke 24. 27; 2 Tim. 3. 15-16). 

c. The Old and New Testaments. The word used in the orig- 
inal language means, rather, "covenant." The meaning is therefore 
more clearly expressed by "The Old and New Covenants" ; that is, 
the former covenant of God with his. people through Moses, and 
the new covenant through Jesus Christ. 

(2) What Is the Bible? This is a question which may be 
answered in a variety of ways, depending upon the standpoint from 
which we consider it. No one answer can express the whole truth. 

a. The Bible Is a Library of Religious Literature. It has 
been well called "The Divine Library." The term "biblical liter- 
ature" has come into common use as indicating that the Bible is 
not one book, but many, and also that these are complete and 
from a literary standpoint diverse in their nature. Almost every 
known form of literary expression is to be found in the Bible. The 
familiar division into law, history, poetry, prophecy, and epistle 
scarcely hints at the extent and wide variety of literary forms 
employed by the biblical writers. 

Of prose literature we have represented mainly the historical 
narrative, oratory, the essay, personal letters, and epistolary addresses. 
Of various forms of poetry there are not only the lyric and the 
drama, but other less familiar forms, such as folk songs, triumphal 
odes, elegies, and poetic oracles. The Wisdom literature is espe- 



8 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

daily rich in variety of literary forms used. Among these are the 
parable, the proverb, the riddle, the fable, the enigma, the mono- 
logue, and the autobiography. 

b. This Library Contains the Word of God. Through law- 
giver, prophet, priest, sage, and preeminently through the Son and 
the Christian apostles, God hath spoken to his people. In the Bible 
men hear the voice of God speaking. There are many books of 
religion in the world, and in them every degree of truth and false- 
hood is represented, but among them all none may be placed by the 
side of the Bible. Its revelation of God is unique and incom.parable. 
In the moral principles which it declares ; in the ethical ideals 
which it presents ; in the demands which it makes upon conduct ; 
in the way in which it inspires faith, reveals God, shows man his 
own heart; in its power to inspire, to comfort, to reassure, to bring 
man into communion with the Most High and to mediate his sav- 
ing grace, the Bible is unlike and superior to any and all other books 
in the world. Because of the way in which it has proved itself in 
the life of mankind a factor in awakening reforms, promoting 
advancement, and inspiring civilization, and because in bur day, 
quite as truly as in every previous age, it grips the wills and 
hearts and consciences of men, we recognize it to be the Word 
of God which abideth forever. 

The books of the Bible did not happen to be brought together 
into one. There is an inner unity which hinds them all together. 
That unity is the historical revelation of God to the world which 
reached its culmination in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. He 
is the supreme revelation of God. All that goes before points for- 
ward to him ; all the New Testament testifies of him. He completes 
all, fulfills all. All is to be understood, measured, valued, and inter- 
preted in its relation to him, to his revelation of God, to his stand- 
ard of righteousness, to his teaching concerning human duty, 
human responsibility, and human destiny. The Bible is the Word 
of God because it centers in Jesus Christ, who himself is the Word 
of God. 

c. Its Nature Is Revealed by Its Character and Purpose. What 
the Bible is may be further understood by a consideration of its 
character and its professed purpose. The Bible is a hook of life. 
Living, breathing, active men walk across its pages. The men of 
the Bible, its actors and heroes, are just such men as you and I 
meet every day, human in every line, aspiring, loving, striving, 
sacrificing, often actuated by purest motives and noblest purposes, 
but withal sometimes erring, sometimes sinning, often failing. It 



OF TEACHER TRAINING g 

has men of many types and of all degrees of nobility and of mean- 
ness, but God is never far off from any one of them. Striving to 
manifest himself to everyone, inspiring, strengthening, guiding by 
his Spirit, saving — through his love, his care, his grace manifested 
toward them and in them, the Infinite Father is brought near to our 
lives. 

The purpose of the Bible is best shown by its own statements. 
It nowhere claims to be an encyclopedia of universal knowledge. It 
asserts no purpose to furnish information on miscellaneous topics. 
It does not claim to speak the authoritative word on any scientific 
subject, whether of anthropology, geology, astronomy, or psychol- 
ogy. It contains history, but it does not assert that its narrative is 
an attempt to present all the facts concerning any event of which it 
treats ; invariably it is history written to teach a religious lesson. 
Perhaps the most comprehensive of numerous biblical statements 
concerning the Scriptures is that of 2 Tim. 3. 15-17. "The sacred 
writings . . . are able to make thee wise unto salvation through 
faith which is in Christ Jesus. Every scripture inspired of God is 
also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruc- 
tion which is in righteousness : that the man of God may be com- 
plete, furnished completely unto every good work." 

(3) The Old Testament and the New Testament. While, as 
we have pointed out, there is a unity in the Bible as a whole, yet 
there is a distinction between the Old Testament and the New 
which ought to be clearly discerned. The Old Testament is pre- 
Christian. It is the sacred literature of the Jewish nation and the 
Jewish Church. It is the Bible of Judaism. The rites and cere- 
monies based on the Old Testament were held by the early Chris- 
tians not to be binding upon them, as Christ's followers. At the 
same time they attached great value to the Old Testament, espe- 
cially to its moral laws, its devotional literature, and its prophecies. 
To Christians, however, throughout all the Christian centuries, 
supreme significance and value has been attributed to the New 
Testament, as the immediate outgrowth of the life and teaching of 
Christ. 

2. DIVISIONS OF THE BIBLE 
(i) Divisions of the Old Testament. 

a. The Jewish Division. The Jews divided their Scriptures into 
three volumes, the Law (the Pentateuch), the Prophets, and the 
Writings. In the volume of the Law they placed Genesis, Exodus, 
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In the volume of th^ 



10 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Prophets, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 
and twelve minor prophets. The Writings included all the remain- 
ing books of the Bible. It is to be noted that this division is not 
based on form and style of the books, but may be said to repre- 
sent three stages in the formation of the Old Testament canon. 

b. A Common Division. All Bible readers are more or less 
familiar with a grouping of the books of the Old Testament into 
a fourfold division, as follows: Law (five books) — Genesis, Exodus, 
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; History (twelve books) — 
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, i and 2 Samuel, i and 2 Kings, i and 2 
Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther; Poetry (five books) — ^Job, 
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs; Prophecy (seven- 
teen books) — (a) Major Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, 
Ezekiel, Daniel; (b) Minor Propliets, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, 
Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, 
Malachi. This division has the advantage through long usage of 
being somewhat familiar, but it is not accurate. For example. 
Numbers is quite as truly historical narrative as is Joshua, and 
Ecclesiastes is not poetry, while Lamentations is. 

c. Recommended Division. For the reason just named we prefer 
another division which, while it may not be so simple nor so easily 
remembered, takes more closely into account the contents of the 
books: Prophetic Literature: (a) Prophetic History — Genesis, 
Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, i and 2 
Samuel, i and 2 Kings, (b) Prophecy — Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, 
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Daniel. Priestly Liter- 
ature: (a) Priestly History — i and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, 
Esther. (b) Books of the Law — Leviticus (Exodus, Numbers, 
Deuteronomy, Ezekiel). Wisdom Literature: Job, Proverbs, 
Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. Devotional Literature : Psalms, 
Lamentations. 

It is to be noted that certain books contain both prophetic history 
and laws ; for this reason they are twice named, first under the head 
of "Prophetic History" and then in parenthesis under "Books of 
Law." It should also be stated that Ezekiel was both a prophet and 
a priest. 

It is not maintained that this is a perfect classification. Further 
study of the books of prophetic history will show that they contain 
elements of priestly history as well. Zechariah, Ezekiel, and 
Daniel have strongly marked apocalyptic elements. Song of Songs, 
though here classed as Wisdom Literature, is held by some to be 



OF TEACHER TRAINING ii 

purely lyric poetry. The student may feel assured, however, that 
once he has this division of the Old Testament thoroughly fixed in 
his mind, he possesses by means of it a fairly accurate index to the 
contents of the Old Testament. 

(2) Divisions of the New Testament/ The New Testament 
may be divided into five parts, as follows: The Gospels — Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, John ; Historical — The Acts ; Epistles of Paul — 
Romans, i and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 
Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, i and 2 Timothy, Titus, Phile- 
mon ; Gen<:ral Epistles — James, i and 2 Peter, i, 2, and 3 John, 
Jude, Hebrews; Apocalypse — Revelation. 

3. OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY 

Separate chapters are devoted to law, to prophecy, and to poetry 
and wisdom (see Chapters x, xii, xiii). Limitations of space make 
it necessary that we treat here, very briefly, the subject of Old 
Testament history. 

(i) Method and Purpose. There are various methods of writ- 
ing history. The method in vogue in ancient times, used by the 
Old Testament historical writers, was that of compilation ; that 
is, the writer simply inserted into his literary framework those 
materials accessible to him which best suited his purpose. 

His purpose was wholly a religious one. He believed that 
the presence and power of God were manifested in the events of 
his national history. He wrote with the prim.ary purpose of 
making this plain — he wanted above all else so to interpret the 
events of Israel's history and life that God might be clearly seen in 
them and his gracious purpose revealed. 

Just as there were different parties among the Jews in Jesus' 
time, so there were earlier. The prophet, the priest, and the sage 
represented different types of religious thought. The writings 
of the sages, or wise men, consist chiefly of prudential counsels 
concerning the practical affairs of everyday life. The priest was 
concerned with the institutions of religion. His interest was in 
sacrifice, circumcision, the Sabbath, the temple and its services, the 
priesthood, and preeminently the divine law as treating of these 
sacred institutions. To the prophet the supreme word was right- 
eousness. He was concerned that life and character should be 
dominated by the highest moral and ethical ideals and exemplify 
them. He conceived God as Eternal Righteousness who demanded 
integrity, justice, mercy, and love in his people. 

iThe divisions of the New Testament may be more conveniently treated in de- 
tail in later chapters of the book. (See chaps. XV, XVI). 



12 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

The prophet and the priest were both writers of history. A 
good example of the respective interests of prophet and priest as 
historical writers is to be seen in the history of David in Samuel 
and in Chronicles, In Samuel, the prophetic historian presents a 
character of light and shade, a human being who sins and suffers 
punishment. He proposes to show that not even the king can sin 
against God without punishment following. In Chronicles, how- 
ever, David's sins are all omitted. The interest is in the building 
of the temple, its ritual, and its services. The priestly historian 
shows how the blessing of God comes upon the man who is de- 
voted to the institutions of religion. 

(2) Composition. All of the early historical books of the Old 
Testament were written long after the occurrence of the events 
which they narrate. The writers used previously existing docu- 
ments. Some of these earlier sources are named. For example, 
the books of Kings refer to The Book of the Acts of Solomon, the 
Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, and the Chronicles of the Kings 
of Judah. 

4. INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE 

Growing out of what has been stated in this chapter as to the 
nature of the Bible there are certain principles afifecting interpreta- 
tion which should be recognized in the study and use of the Bible. 

(i) The Characters of the Bible, and Their Deeds, Should Be 
Judged in the Light of the Age in which They Lived. The Old 
Testament historical narratives contain records of dark deeds. In 
some cases, heroes committed evil deeds for which they claimed 
divine sanction. But a crime is a crime whether committed by a 
saint or a heathen and whether related in the Bible or in the daily 
newspaper. A wrong committed by a man of the Old Testament 
must not be condoned or glossed over. To do this would be to 
offend against our own moral sense and possibly to warp our moral 
judgment. But we are to realize that these men lived in the dim 
light of early revelation. They were men of their own age, and 
they shared in the deficient moral ideals of their times. In many 
things which are abhorrent to the enlightened conscience of our 
Christian century they acted according to the best light which 
they had. 

(2) Due Regard Should Be Paid to Literary Form. Poetry 
should not be read as a narrative of exact fact ; a parable should 
not be understood as a statement of historical truth. This would 
seem self-evident, but how many misunderstandings and harsh 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 13 

judgments have arisen out of a failure to appreciate the relation of 
literary form to interpretation ! In seeking to understand the 
message of a book, or of an integral part of a book, its general 
character must first be determined. 

(3) Each Biblical Book is the Outgrowth of a Definite His- 
torical Situation and is Best Understood when Considered in 
the Light of that Situation. This is a principle of wide applica- 
tion. To fully grasp a writer's meaning we must seek out the cir- 
cumstances which surrounded him when he wrote, the readers he 
had in mind, and the purposes which he desired to accomplish, 

(4) It should Be Recognized that There Are Degrees of 
Inspiration within the Scripture. Not all parts of the Bible are 
on the same level of inspiration. Ecclesiastes and the Gospel of 
John are not of equal value as parts of divine revelation. It will 
not do, therefore, to quote single verses indiscriminately in support 
of some chosen thesis as though all were of equal value. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Consider Hebrews i. 1-2. What five important declara- 
tions are made by the writer in these verses ? What signifi- 
cant deductions may be made from these statements ? 

2. Read Galatians, chapters 3, 4, What is to be under- 
stood from these chapters as regards the relative importance 
for Christian believers of the Old Testament and the New? 

3. Consider the statement of Jer. 18, 18. Note that three 
great classes of religious workers among the Jews are there 
named. What is the implication with regard to the work of 
each? 

4. Read and compare the accounts of the bringing up of 
the ark to Jerusalem in 2 Sam. 6. 12-23, ^^^ in i Chron. 15. i 
to 16. 43, Note the additions made by the chronicler. What 
is their significance ? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

I. DIVISIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

(i) Gospels, 4. (2) Historical, I. (3) Epistles of Paul, 
13. (4) General Epistles, 8. (5) Apocalypse, i. (Learn 
also the names of the books in each division.) 

2. DIVISIONS OF THE JEWISH OLD TESTAMENT 

(i) The Law (the Pentateuch), the Prophets, the Writ- 
ings. 



14 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

3. OUR DIVISION 

( 1 ) Prophetic Literature : a. Prophetic History ; b. 
Prophecy. 

(2) Priestly Literature: a. Priestly History; b. Books 
of the Law. 

(3) Wisdom Literature. 

(4) Devotional Literature. 

(Learn also the names of the books in each division.) 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What does the word "Bible" mean? Why is it inaccurate as a title? 
What title is used by the writers of the New Testament in referring to the Old? 
What idea is intended to be conveyed in the word "Testament"? 
What may be said of the literary forms of the Bible? 
What forms of prose literature are found in the Bible? Of poetry? 
How do we recognize the Bible to contain the Word of God ? 
How is the nature of the Bible best shown? 

What distinction should be made between the Old Testament and the New? 
How did the Jews divide the Old Testament? 

Wherein is the familiar division of the Old Testament inaccurate? 
What is our recommended division? 

What was a prevalent method of writing history in ancient times? 
Describe the purpose of the prophetic historian. 
In what were the priestly writers chiefly interested? 
In what different way did the prophet conceive religion? 

What are some of the earlier sources named by the O. T. historical writers? 
State and explain four important principles affecting interpretation of the 
Bible. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Name "Bible." 

D.C. p. xi. H.D. p. 95. 

2. Divisions of the Bible. 

D.C. p. xii. H.D. pp. 95, 96. 

3. Early Conditions Among the Israelites Affecting Authorship 

D.C. xiv7, xlii(2). H.D. pp. 9806. 

4. Composite Authorship of Old Testament Books. 

D.C. pp. xxvr'ff. H.D. p. 349in. 

5. The Inspiration of the Bible. 

D.C. p. cxxxif. H.D. p. 383. 

6. Principles of Interpretation. 

D.C. p. cxxxivi. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 15 



CHAPTER HI 

THE BIBLE IN THE MAKING 
I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. INTRODUCTORY 
(i) Writing in Ancient Times. 

a. Its Antiquity. Among the Egyptians inscriptions on stone 
were in use previous to B. C. 5000. Papyrus, made from reeds of 
the Nile lowlands, began to be used as early as 3500. 

Among the Babylonians, writing was in common use as early as 
4000. Inscriptions were made on soft clay tablets which were 
afterward baked in the sun. Great libraries have been discovered 
within recent years, dug up and transported to the British Museum 
in London, to prominent museums of Europe and to the libraries of 
some of the great American universities. 

The Tel el-Amarna tablets, discovered in 1887, some of which bear 
messages from the governors of several cities in Palestine to their 
Egyptian masters, prove that writing was practiced in Palestine as 
early as the fifteenth century B. C. The earliest extant specimens 
of Hebrew writing date from approximately B. C. 1000. The 
Moabite stone, erected by the king of Moab to commemorate his 
revolt against Jehoram, dates from B. C. 850. 

b. Material. The earliest material used was undoubtedly stone. 
Very early the possibilities of clay were discovered. Later, skins 
began to be used. Leather rolls from Egypt are in existence dating 
from as early as B. C. 2000. Papyrus was used in Egypt and 
even more largely in Greece. Parchment or vellum, made from 
dried skins of animals reduced on both sides by being rubbed with 
pumice, originated in the second century B. C. This largely dis- 
placed all other materials until in the fifteenth century A. D. paper 
came into common use. 

The books of Scripture were first written on skins, some of 
them possibly on papyrus or parchment. The common form of 
book was the roll, a wooden roller being attached at the beginning 
and at the end. 

(2) The Languages of the Bible. 

a. The Old Testament. Hebrew, the language of the Old 
Testament, is a member of the Semitic family of languages, to 
which belong also the Arabic, the Assyrian, the Aramaic, and a 



i6 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

number of other tongues. A few brief passages of the Old Testa- 
ment have been handed down in Aramaic. (Ezra 4. 8 to 6. 18; 7. 12. 
26; Dan. 2. 46 to 7. 28; Jer. 10. 11.) 

b. The New Testament. The New Testament is in the Greek 
language, in that form known as Hellenistic Greek. The Jews of 
the Dispersion were known as Hellenists, and from this fact the 
dialect took its name. In the time of Christ Greek was the language 
both of culture and of commercial life throughout the Roman empire. 

2. THE CANON 

The word "canon" in its simplest meaning signifies the list of 
books composing the Bible. 

(i) The Old Testament Canon. The Old Testament as it was 
possessed by the early Christian Church was taken over from the 
Jewish Church. One of the early church fathers, Origen, speaks of 
"the books of the Covenant, as the Hebrews have handed them 
down." Much uncertainty attaches to the precise time when the 
list of books composing the Old Testament was finally fixed. The 
term "the Scriptures" is used by the writers of the New Testament 
as though well understood and requiring no explanation. The 
books of the Law were first canonized, somewhat later the Prophets, 
and, finally, the Writings. A Jewish council at Jamnia in A. D. 90 
had the canonicity of certain books, especially Song of Songs and 
Ecclesiastes, under consideration, and decided the question in their 
favor. We may say that the canon of the Old Testament was for- 
mally determined as the result of a gradual process which began in 
tJie time of Ezra and practically closed with the Council of Jamnia. 

(2) The New Testament Canon. The books of the New Testa- 
ment were written in widely separated localities of the Roman 
empire. They were originally addressed to individuals and 
churches in different places. The gathering together of these 
scattered writings was accomplished only gradually, and by a proc- 
ess which is not known. Irenseus (A. D. 180) cites as authorita- 
tive most of the books now composing our canon. (For additional 
statement see p. 105. 

(3) Difference Between the Roman Catholic and Protestant 
Positions. The Roman Catholic bases his faith and judgment as 
to the Bible on the authority of the Church ; the Protestant believes 
the Bible as the Word of God to be self-evidencing to the Christian 
consciousness. "The Romanist accepts Scripture as the Word of 
God because the Church tells him so, the Protestant accepts it 
as the Word of God because God tells him so" (Dods). The 



OF TEACHER TRAINING \^ 

Roman Catholic says : "I do not need to trouble myself about 
the matter; the infallible Church tells me what the Bible is; I 
accept her statement as authoritative and final." The Protestant 
says : 'T do not need to trouble myself to go to the Church in the 
matter; I know no infallible Church. I read the Bible, and as I 
read I am convinced that God is speaking to me. My own convic- 
tion is reenforced by the testimony of the multitudes of other 
believers who also find in the Bible the Word of God." 

3. MANUSCRIPTS 

(i) Old Testament Manuscripts. There is not now in exist- 
ence, so far as is known, even one Old Testament book, or fragment 
of a book, in its original form. Various causes, including fanatical 
religious opposition and lack of realization of the importance of 
first copies, combined to make the survival of an original manu- 
script improbable, if not impossible. The work of copying was 
done by scribes, of whom there were many, and copied manuscripts 
were multiplied and handed down from generation to generation. 
Extreme precaution was taken by copyists against error, their work 
being regulated by exact rules, as well as by great reverence for 
the sacred text. The oldest dated manuscript known is the Saint 
Petersburg Codex of the Prophets, from A. D. 916. In the British 
Museum there is a copy of the Pentateuch which some scholars 
believe to be possibly a half-century older. The oldest manuscript 
of the entire Old Testament dates from A. D. loio. Of complete 
Old Testament manuscripts there are very few; of manuscripts of 
some part of the Old Testament there are over sixteen hundred. 

(2) New Testament Manuscripts. (See p. 112.) 

4. VERSIONS 

(1) Definition. A version is a translation from the original 
language into another tongue. The Bible has been translated into 
over four hundred languages and dialects. Of these we may notice, 
very briefly, the most important: 

(2) Ancient Versions. 

a. The Septuagint. This is a translation of the Old Testament 
into Greek. It was begun in the third century B. C, completed 
before the beginning of the Christian era. The translation was 
supposed to have been made by seventy-two scholars, hence the 
name. The name is often written LXX. The Septuagint was the 
Scriptures in common use in the time of Christ. 

b. The Targums. Translations of the Old Testament into the 



i8 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Aramaic dialect. Some were made previous to the time of Christ, 
some later. 

c. The Vulgate. A translation of the whole Bible into Latin, 
made by Jerome, about the close of the fourth century. Some earlier 
Latin versions were used as an aid in the work of translation. 

(3) English Versions. 

a. Wiclif's Bible. Following some early attempts to translate 
the Bible into Anglo-Saxon, then into early English, John Wiclif, 
the morning light of the Reformation, undertook the task of the 
preparation of an English version. His translation was made from 
the Vulgate, in manuscript form. 

b. Tyndale's Bible. The first printed New Testament in English 
was the translation, from the Greek, of William Tyndale in 1525. 
Later he undertook the translation of the Old Testament, but before 
his work was finished he was put to death on the charge of heresy. 
His last words as he was tied to the stake were a prayer — "Lord, 
open the king of England's eyes." 

c. Coverdale's Bible. The first complete printed English Bible in 
the English language was issued by Miles Coverdale in 1535. It 
was based on Tyndale's translation and on sundry German and 
Latin translations. It achieved immediate and wide popularity. 

d. The Authorized Version of 1611 (King James Version). 
The right to issue the Bible in English having been established, and 
the demand for it having steadily grown, the early versions named 
above were followed at brief intervals by Matthew's Bible, Tav- 
erner's Bible, and finally a Roman Catholic version, commonly 
called the Douay Bible, the New Testament published in 1582, the 
Old Testament in 1609. 

In 1604 preparations, on a much larger scale than ever before 
attempted, were begun for a new Bible translation. The king 
appointed fifty-four translators, who completed their work in seven 
years. Thus in 161 1 the familiar King James Version was issued. 
For three hundred years it has been the Bible of the English- 
speaking world. 

e. The Revised Version. Development in the English language 
amounting to entire change in the meaning of many words, the dis- 
covery of many old manuscripts which shed new light on the sacred 
text, and increased critical study of the Bible, combined to create 
a demand for a new version. The movement took form in 1870 in 
England. A revision committee of fifty-four scholars was ap- 
pointed. In 1871 an American committee of thirty-four was formed. 
These committees cooperated, but final decision rested with the 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 19 

English company. The complete Revised Version was published 
in 1885. Its circulation has been remarkable. Popular interest was 
intense from the day of publication. The Chicago Tribune an4 
the Chicago Times each published the New Testament entire in a 
single issue. Three million copies of the Revised New Testament 
were sold within the first year after its publication. 

f. The American Revised Version. Suggestions of the Ameri- 
can revisers, not adopted by the British company, were printed in 
an appendix of the Revised Version. The American organization 
was continued, much additional work was done, and in 1901 the 
Standard American edition of the Revised Version was published. 
Says Professor Price : "As it now stands it is the most perfect 
English Bible in existence, and will be the standard version for 
English readers for decades to come." 

5- CONCLUDING STATEMENT 

(i) Editorial Additions. For centuries the books of the Bible 
existed without either chapter or verse divisions. Cardinal Hugo 
in A. D. 1250 divided the Bible into chapters to aid him in making 
a concordance to the Vulgate. The Old Testament verse divisions 
were made by Jewish scholars in the ninth century A. D. Not 
until 155 1 was the New Testament thus arranged. The work was 
done by Robert Stephens while making a tiresome journey from 
Paris to Lyons. The dates printed in the King James Version 
were first introduced in 1701, based on a scheme of chronology 
^^■orked out by Archbishop Ussher. This chronology is now 
generally recognized to be imperfect, and in some respects grossly 
incorrect. 

(2) Advantages of the Revised Versions. We advise the 
use of the Standard edition of the American Revised Version. We 
enumerate a few only of the most important advantages. 

a. The Original Languages Are More Accurately Translated, 
Hebrew is much better understood to-day than in the seventeenth 
century. The translators had access to more manuscripts. They 
made more use of the ancient manuscripts, relying less upon pre- 
ceding translations. 

b. Many Obscure Passages Are Made Clear. For example, 
Psa. 16. 3. In the King James Version : "But to the saints that are 
in the earth, and to the excellent," in whom is all my delight." The 
American Revised Version : "As for the saints that are in the earth, 
they are the excellent in whom is all my delight." 

c. Obsolete Words Are Replaced by Words Well Understood. 



20 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Examples are : Falsehood for leasing ; inwards for purtenance ; pre- 
cede for prevent ; plow for ear, 

d. The Form of the Printed Text Is Much Superior. Chapter 
and verse divisions, often arbitrary, are rendered less conspicuous ; 
paragraph divisions suggested by the thought have been introduced ; 
extraneous materials, such as assumed dates, have been done away 
with ; some of the poetry of the Old Testament has been put into 
verse form. 

II. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Languages of the Bible: Of the Old Testament, He- 
brew ; of the New Testament, Greek. 

2. Principal ancient versions: The Septuagint, the Tar- 
gums, the Vulgate. 

3. Principal English Versions : Wiclif 's Bible, Tyndale's 
Bible, Coverdale's Bible, the King James Version, the Re- 
vised Version, the American Revised Version. 

4. Advantages of the Revised Versions : More accurate 
translation; obscure passages clarified; obsolete words dis- 
carded ; the printed form improved. 

III. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Tell what you can concerning the antiquity of writing. 

What materials were first used for purposes of writing? 

What is the language of the Old Testament? Of the New? 

Define canon. What was the status of the Old Testament canon in the time 
of Christ? 

Describe the formation of the Old Testament canon. 

What can you say of the formation of the New Testament canon? 

Distinguish between the Protestant and the Roman Catholic positions as to 
the Bible. 

What are the principal facts stated concerning Old Testament manuscriptsi 

What is the meaning of the word "version"? 

What are the principal ancient versions? 

What is to be said of WicIIf's Bible? Of Tyndale's? Of Coverdale's? 

Gfve the chief facts of interest about the Authorized Version. 

What is the Revised Version? The American Revised Version? 

State the chief advantages of the Revised Versions. 

IV. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. Writing in Ancient Times. 

D.C. p. xiv7. H.p. p. 978f. 

2. Languages ot the Bible. 

D.C. p. xi2. H.D. pp. 908, 528. 

3. The Canon 

D.C- p.' xiii*. H.D. pp. inf., 113!. 

4. Versions of the Bible. 

D.C. p. xvi9 H.D. pp. 910, 2i9£. 

5. The Revised Versions. 

D.C. p. xvi9. H.D. p. 229f. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 21 



CHAPTER IV 

PEOPLES AND NATIONS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD 
L LESSON STATEMENT 

I. THE RACES OF MANKIND 
While there is no general agreement to-day among students of 
ethnology, there is a growing tendency toward the division of man- 
kind into four great groups designated as Negro, Mongolia, Ameri- 
can, and Caucasic. Of the Caucasic group there are recognized 
five principal subdivisions, of which perhaps the two most impor- 
tant from the standpoint of history are the Hamito-Semitic and the 
Indo-European. Of the Hamito-Semitic peoples, the Hamitic in- 
clude, among others, the Egyptians ; the Semitic, or Semites, may 
be divided into southern Semites, including the northern Arabians, 
the Sabaeans, and the Abyssinians, and northern Semites, including 
the Babylonians and Assyrians, the Arameans, and the Canaanites. 
The Arameans in turn include the Israelites, Edomites, Moabites, 
and Ammonites. All of the latter may be properly spoken of as 
related Hebrew peoples. Of the races of mankind none have had a 
more important or conspicuous part in human history than the 
Semitic peoples. 

2. THE ANCIENT ORIENTAL WORLD 
The oldest known civilizations of the world centered in the 
valleys of two great river systems which form the western and 
eastern boundaries, respectively, of the ancient Oriental world. 
On the western border was the valley of the Nile, in which devel- 
oped the civilization of ancient Egypt. On the eastern border was 
the great valley of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, uniting to flow 
into the Persian Gulf. In this region developed the civilization of 
Babylonia and Assyria. Stretching between the Nile and the 
Euphrates lay the vast desert of Arabia, for the most part a high, 
barren tableland, dotted here and there by oases of great fertility. 
Northwest of the Arabian desert, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, 
was Syria, a part of which came to be known in later times as 
Palestine or, in Bible language, Canaan. 

In this entire territory the only spots of considerable fertile 
extent were Egypt, Babylonia, and Canaan. Because of their great 



22 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

rivers and their large area of rich, productive soil the first two 
were fitted by nature to be the seats of powerful civilizations. 
Canaan, on the other hand, was of restricted area, without a single 
good harbor on the Mediterranean, and with its one principal river 
flowing into an inland sea, far below the ocean level. Its territory- 
was thus unfitted to support a large or strong nation. Then, in 
addition, the only possible means of communication between the 
overtowering civilizations of the Tigris-Euphrates valley on the 
east and the Nile valley in the southwest was through Palestine. 
Thus this little territory was constituted by its geographical location 
the natural buffer between the two most powerful civilizations of 
antiquity. 

I 3- THE ISRAELITES 

(i) Origin. The Israelites, as we have seen, constituted one 
branch of the Semitic race. From the common Semitic home, 
probably in northern Arabia, there went forth successive waves of 
migration which in time resulted in the development of a number 
of great nations. 

One group of closely related tribes constituted the Hebrew 
peoples, of whom the Israelites were to become most conspicuous 
and to render a unique and important service to mankind. 

(2) The Name. 

a. Israel. This was the name preferred and used by the people 
themselves. In the early tribal state no general descriptive name 
was used ; when the nation came into existence they spoke of them- 
selves as the people of Israel. This is therefore the preferred 
national designation. 

b. Hebrews. Foreigners spoke of the people as Hebrews, and 
when Israelites spoke of themselves to foreigners they also used 
this term. This name, as indicated above, may properly be said to 
have a wider application than to the Israelites alone. 

c. Jews. The word is derived from "Judah," and probably came 
into use through the survival of the kingdom of Judah after the 
disintegration of the northern kingdom, called Israel. "Jews" is a 
late designation ; it may properly be applied to nation or people from 
post-exilic times on, though by classical writers and Josephus it is 
sometimes used in referring to ancient times. 

4. ISRAEL AND CONTEMPORARY NATIONS 

(i) Origin and Early Development of Israel. It will help 
us to gain a true conception of Israel's national life and history to 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 23 

bear in mind that the nation arose as an integral part of the ancient 
Semitic world. One of many offshoots of the parent Semitic stock 
in Arabia was a migration which entered Palestine from the east, 
coming from the region of Ur in Southern Babylonia, and halting 
for a time at Haran. Some time later this wave pushed on into 
Canaan. Among the tribal leaders was one who attained to emi- 
nence, by name Abram, later Abraham. 

At this time Palestine had already been under the rule of Baby- 
lonia for centuries. The Canaanites, who possessed a highly devel- 
oped civilization, occupied the land. The Israelites, a pastoral 
people, with nomadic habits fixed upon them, and with very little 
organization among themselves, moved about as uncertain fortune, 
represented by food supply, famine, and oppression of enemies, 
dictated; gradually, however, pushing to the southward until they 
became settled in the fertile lands of Goshen in northern Egypt. 
Up to this time we are largely dependent for our information upon 
tribal traditions ; after this we have more or less definite historical 
data (in Exodus and following books). The length of the sojourn 
in Egypt is uncertain (Gen. 15. 13; Num. 26. 57-59; Exod. 6. 
16-20; 12. 40). The oppression to which they were subjected served 
to unify the divided tribes, and thus what appeared at the time 
to be a grievous burden made possible the constructive work 
of the great nation-builder, Moses, under whose leadership the yoke 
of the oppressor was broken. When after years of wandering the 
Hebrews again entered Canaan it was not as a confederacy of related 
clans but as a nation, recognizing one leader, with a common military 
organization, and with organized religious customs and institu- 
tions. The history of Israel as a nation, therefore, begins at about 
the time of the entrance into Canaan from the wilderness wander- 
ings. The date was about B. C. 1200. 

(2) Contemporary Nations. The three great powers of the 
world during the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, the wilderness 
wanderings, and the entrance into Canaan, were Egypt, Babylonia, 
and Assyria. 

a. Egypt. The twentieth dynasty of Egyptian history is dated 
by Breasted B. C. 1200-1090. It is a period concerning which 
comparatively little is known. Over three thousand years had 
already passed in the valley of the Nile since the calendar year of 
365 days had been introduced (B. C. 4241). During these millen- 
niums a great civilization had been slowly built up to its highest 
estate and had gradually waned. During the classic period of 
national history (B. C. 2000-1788) "literature had flourished, poetry 



24 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

had reached a highly artistic structure, . . . sculpture and archi- 
tecture were rich and prolific, industrial arts surpassed all previous 
attainments . . . internal resources of the country had been 
elaborately developed," waste land had been reclaimed and made 
cultivable, distant mines were exploited, and commerce was carried 
on with foreign peoples. This golden period had been followed by 
disorganization and decay. Foreign usurpers, the Hyksos, had 
come. Gradually the native inhabitants recovered themselves, 
organized a strong military system, and expelled the foreign rulers. 
A new empire was built, of wonderful wealth and splendor. Later 
internal disturbances and external attacks by the Hittites and 
others again reduced the empire in size and greatly weakened it. 

b. Babylonia. Babylonia at this time had passed through a very 
long and wonderful history. By the aid of inscriptions and monu- 
ments a highly developed civilization is known to have been in exist- 
ence in B. C. 5000. At that epoch Semites were living side by 
side with an earlier population, the Sumerians. Passing over some 
thirty-five hundred years to the period in which we are especially 
interested, we find the nation in the Kassite period of its history. 
The Kassites, wild tribes from the hills, had descended upon the 
peaceful and cultured Babylonians, with their highly developed 
civilization, had conquered them, and then, strange as it may seem, 
had been absorbed by the older people. Industry was active, com- 
merce flourished, legal enactments regulated the intercourse of the 
people with each other and with other peoples, writing in the form 
of inscriptions had long been in use, a literature of most varied 
character and widest extent had been developed, great religious 
temples were in existence. 

c. Assyria. The child of Babylonia, Assyria, about this time 
rose to the dignity of an independent kingdom. Its earliest center 
was the city of Assur on the Tigris River. Northeastern Meso- 
potamia is a mountainous country, and naturally the Assyrians were 
more given to hunting and warfare than to agriculture. Their 
gods were gods of strife, of battle, and of storm. The national 
life centered in the court, which was "an aristocracy of warriors." 
Fragments of legal documents ; inscriptions which make mention 
of chariots, lapis lazuli, precious vases, and slaves ; allusions to 
temples — all these indicate to us something of the state of civiliza- 
tion which prevailed. Tiglathpileser I (about B. C. iioo) won 
decisive military victories over surrounding peoples, including the 
Babylonians, and his reign marked the beginning of the ascendency 
of Assyria as a world power. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 25 

5. ISRAEL'S UNIQUE SERVICE TO HUMANITY 

All the nations of antiquity were religious ; their supreme inter- 
ests were those of religion. Especially was this true of the Semitic 
nations. The Semites had a genius for religion. Among the 
Semitic peoples God singled out Israel through whom to bring to 
the world his supreme revelation. This unique and preeminent 
service is strikingly described by Professor C. F. Kent : 

"Two great currents of thought and influence flow out of the past. 
United, they determine to a great extent the character of that which 
is to-day called "civilization." Hellenism contributed the elements 
of philosophy, art, and political organization, and the canons of 
scientific thought ; but this fair stream, abounding in so much that 
stimulated human progress, was pitiably destitute in that which 
is the basis of higher good. This was religion. Rising farther 
back in human history, there came from the barren hills of Canaan 
that other current which furnished those absolute essentials to the 
highest civilization — religion, ethics, and the elements of the laws 
which regulate the relations of man to man and to his God. In 
the history of the Hebrew people, therefore, one may follow the 
unfolding in the mind of man, under the influence of the Divine, 
of those great religious ideas which have become the mainspring 
of humanity's progress, and which have determined the nature of 
the faith of more than half mankind. For, crystallizing, they be- 
came the religion of the Jews ; being perverted, they degenerated 
into Mohammedanism : and, expanding, they developed into 
Christianity. The Hebrews also first taught man that the 
supreme goal of life is righteousness. Consequently, they are the 
great ethical teachers of humanity. Hand in hand with ethics 
went its objective expression — law. To-day the elements of the 
Hebrew legislation have become the bone and marrow of the 
world's greatest legal systems. In grappling with the social prob- 
lems of their age the enlightened Hebrew prophets, priests, and wise 
men deduced social laws which are as applicable in the present as 
they were twenty-five hundred years ago. Therefore, for the stu- 
dent of religion, law, and social science, Hebrew history possesses 
a preeminence shared with no other." 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Draw a map of the ancient world showing the location 
of Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria, and Canaan. 

2. Read Genesis, chapters 5-1 1. Note how one line is 
traced through successive generations from Adam to Abra- 
ham. 

3. Read again Genesis 10. These are names, for the most 
part, not of individuals but of nations and tribes. Read 
article, "National Genealogies," H. D. p. 285, and identify 
as many as possible of these names. 



26 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

4. Reflect on the statement of Deut. 32. 8. What do you 
understand the verse to mean? 

5. Read Gen. 18. i to 23. 20. Consider the conditions of 
Abraham's hfe: In what land did he Hve? Of what did his 
property consist? To what extent was he a landholder? 
Why did he move about? 

6. Read Gen. 44. 18-34. Consider the spirit manifested 
by Judah ; the simplicity and beauty of the language ; the 
fatherly love of Jacob which it portrays. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Semitic peoples prominent in Biblical history: Baby- 
lonians and Assyrians, Arameans, Canaanites. 

2. Aramean peoples named in the Bible : Israelites, Edom- 
ites, Moabiites, Ammonites. 

3. Three distinctive names of the people of Israel : Israel, 
Hebrews, Jews. (Be prepared to distinguish between these.) 

4. Three nations contemporary with Israel : Egypt, Baby- 
lonia, Assyria. (Be ready to locate and give principal facts 
concerning each.) 

5. The Twelve Tribes of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, 
Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, 
Joseph (Ephraim, Manasseh), Benjamin. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Name the four great divisions of mankind. 

Name two great subdivisions of the Caucasic group. 

Name some of the Semitic peoples. 

Name the centers of the oldest civilizations of the world. 

Describe the physical features of the ancient Oriental world. 

What natural advantages had the Nile and Euphrates valleys over the land 
of Canaan? 

With what Semitic peoples are you familiar? 

By what name did the people whom we study prefer to be called ? 

What use was made of the term "Hebrews"? 

How did the term "Jews" come into use? 

In what condition do we find the Hebrews at the beginning of history? 

Tell something of the history of Egypt during the period Israel was in process 
of becoming a nation. 

What can you say of the early history of Babylonia? 

Describe the early civilization of Assyria. 

What was Israel's unique service to humanity? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Valleys of the Nile and the Euphrates. 

H.D. pp. 65s, 246. 

2. Babylonia 

H.D. pp. 67IM. 

3. Egypt. 

H.D. pp. 2o?ff. 

4. Israel's Service to Humanity. 

D.C. p. xviii. 



0¥ TEACHER TRAINING 27 

CHAPTER V 

THE LAND OF PALESTINE 
L LESSON STATEMENT 

I. THE LAND OF PALESTINE 

(i) Names. 

a. Palestine. The name most frequently used to-day seldom 
occurs in the Bible. (But see Exod. 15. 14; Joel 3. 4.) Strangely 
enough, it is derived from the name of Israel's ancient enemy, the 
Philistines. After the beginning of the Christian era it came into 
common use, doubtless because there was no ancient geographical 
term covering the whole territory. 

b. Land of Canaan. The Israelites used the term "the Land of 
Canaan," but by this they referred only to the region west of 
Jordan. The region east of Jordan was called Gilead. 

c. Land of Israel. After the conquest this name was sometimes 
used as descriptive of the entire country until the division of the 
kingdom, after which it was applied to the territory of the northern 
kingdom only. 

d. The Holy Land. In the middle ages Palestine as the scene 
of the earthly life of our Lord came to be called the Holy Land. It 
is interesting to note that the prophet Zechariah used this as a 
descriptive term (Zech. 2. 12). 

(2) Boundaries and Extent. Palestine is frequently described 
as extending from Dan to Beersheba and from Jordan to the sea. 
More accurately, it may be said to have been bounded on the north 
by the river Litani, on the south by a desert region, on the west 
by the Mediterranean, and on the east by the great Syrian desert. 
Its extent, west of the Jordan, was about 160 miles north and south, 
with an average width of about 40 miles. 

(3) Physical Features in Detail. 

a. Mountains. The backbone of the country is formed by the 
central range, an extension of the Lebanon Mountains. From an 
elevation of 4,000 feet farthest north there is a gradual decline to 
the southward, until the mountains are lost in the wild desert 
sandhills. In Samaria and Judaea the elevation is not above 2,500 
feet; the form is that of a plateau, about 15 miles wide, 
seamed with gorges, heaped with peaks. The valleys run east and 
west. On the west the plateau declines sharply to the coast plain, 



28 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

which at the north is very narrow, in some places not the width 
of a roadway, but which south of Carmel gradually widens. 
Beginning at the north, the principal mountains are Hermon, 
Lebanon, Tabor, Gilboa, Carmel, Ebal, Gerizim, and Olivet. 

On the east of Jordan the mountainous plateau is also an exten- 
sion of the Lebanons. It extends from north to south 150 miles; its 
maximum width is in the north, 75 miles ; toward the south it 
narrows to 25 miles. Its average height is perhaps 2,000 feet ; its 
surface broken by isolated peaks. It slopes somewhat gradually to 
the Jordan valley. 

b. River and Inland Seas, (a) The Jordan. The one promi- 
nent river of Palestine is the Jordan. At the foot of Mount 
Hermon, where it takes its rise, it is 500 feet above the sea ; in flow- 
ing 40 miles to lose itself in the Sea of Galilee it falls 1,182 feet. 
Emerging, it declines less rapidly to its final outlet in the Dead Sea. 
Its current is very rapid. It traverses a winding course of 200 
miles in accomplishing a distance of 60 miles in a straight line. 
Between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea the channel is deep, 
and in general form one-half to one mile wide, thus making the 
stream shallow ; in some twenty different places it may be easily 
forded. The plain of the Jordan is about 10 miles wide. 

(b) The Sea of Galilee. In the Old Testament this lake is called 
the Sea of Chinnereth (Num. 34. 11; Josh. 13. 27), and in the New 
Testament the Lake of Gennesaret, the Sea of Tiberias, and the 
Sea of Galilee (Luke 5. i; John 6. i). It is pear-shaped, broadest 
at the north, and is 12 miles long by 8 wide at the broadest point. 
The water of the lake is clear and sweet, and to-day, as in the time 
of Christ, abounds in fish. In his day the shore was lined with 
cities and villages of which but two remain. 

(c) The Dead Sea. One of the most remarkable bodies of water 
in the world is the Dead Sea, called in the Old Testament the Salt 
Sea and the Sea of the Plain (Gen. 14. 3; Deut. 3. 17). Its surface 
is 1,292 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, and its waters 
are so salt that no forms of either animal or vegetable life can live 
in them. It is 9 miles wide and 40 miles long. 

c. Special Features. Between the elevation of Hermon, 9,200 
feet, and the depression of the Dead Sea, the bottom of which is 
2,600 feet below sea level, is a range which affords every variety of 
climate and a fauna and flora as extensive as are possessed by some 
entire continents. In fact, within a territory scarcely larger than 
the State of New Hampshire may be found the peculiar character- 
istics of almost all zones. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 29 

(4) Great Cities. 

a. Jerusalem, the name, perhaps meaning "city of peace," was in 
existence in the time of Abraham (Gen. 14. 18). At the time of the 
conquest it was the capital of a Canaanite king, its inhabitants 
Jebusites (Josh. 10. 5), It was regarded as an impregnable for- 
tress. Its importance and strategic position were doubtless factors 
in its selection by David as his capital. "Beautiful for situation, the 
joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion" (Psa. 48. 2). It is located 
18 miles west of the Dead Sea, 32 miles from the Mediterranean, 
and has an elevation above the sea of 2,500 feet. 

b. Bethlehem. The birthplace of Jesus is located 5 miles south 
of Jerusalem. It is an historic city, the scene of many incidents of 
Scripture narrative. 

c. Bethany. Two miles east of Jerusalem, on the southeast 
slope of the Mount of Olives, is Bethany, sanctified by association 
with the ministry of the Saviour (John 11. 18; Mark 11. i). 

d. Jericho. The first city conquered by the Israelites after their 
passage of the Jordan is in the Jordan valley, 13 miles north- 
east of Jerusalem, and 5 miles from the north end of the Dead 
Sea. It is 1,000 feet below the Mediterranean, and, consequently, 
tropical in climate. To this day it is noted for its production of 
fruit (Josh. 2. i; 6. iff.; 2 Kings 2. 4ff.). 

e. Nazareth. Directly west of the southern end of the Sea of 
Galilee, about midway between it and the Mediterranean, is Naz- 
areth, a town of some 8,000 inhabitants. It is beautifully located on 
the side of a mountain, overlooking a natural basin. 

f. Capernattm. This city, located somewhere on the northwest 
shore of the Sea of Galilee, was the center of Christ's work in 
Galilee; it was also his home (Matt. 4. 13; 17. 24). Although it 
was a city of considerable size and importance, it has long since 
passed out of existence, and even its site is a matter of dispute. 

g. Samaria. Omri bought the hill of Samaria and, having forti- 
fied it, made it his capital (i Kings 16. 24). It was surrounded 
by strong walls and beautified by later kings of Israel. As the 
capital of the northern kingdom it occupied a prominent place in 
the history of the nation. It was 30 miles north of Jerusalem^ 
almost equidistant from the Jordan and the Mediterranean. 

2. PALESTINE IN NEW TESTAMENT TIMES 
(i) Principal Divisions. In New Testament times Palestine had 
come to have certain clearly defined divisions, as follows : 
a. JuD^A, The most southern of the three principal districts of 



30 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Palestine west of the Jordan v/as Judsea. It was a small territory, 
mountainous, with rocky peaks, dry water-courses, and occasional 
valleys — a land of rock, dwarfed trees, little water, and scanty soil. 

b. Galilee. The northernmost part of Palestine, larger than 
Judsea, was about 60 miles north and south by 30 miles east 
and west. On the west, between it and the Mediterranean, the terri- 
tory of Tyre, a narrow strip of country, intervened. Within its 
small area it had all the variety of mountain, plain, and valley. It 
had better soil and was more generously watered than Judaea, hence 
was more productive, and had a more abundant growth of vegeta- 
tion and trees, Galilee was the scene of the larger part of the life 
and ministry of the Christ. 

c. Samaria, The territory Intervening between Judcea and Galilee 
had come to be known as Samaria, from its principal city. It was 
a region somewhat more open than Judaea, and with a larger area 
of tillable soil. It was more accessible to invaders, and its people 
more hospitable to foreign influences. On its northwest border 
the Plain of Esdraelon stretched out to the sea — a plain of 
wonderful fertility — with deep, rich soil which yielded abundant 
harvests. It formed a natural roadway from the Mediterranean to 
the Jordan. On this plain some of the greatest and most significant 
battles of the world's history were fought. 

The Samaritans were held in abhorrence by the Jews. From the 
days of Ezra loyal Jews refused to have any dealings with them 
because they were of impure blood and mixed religion (2 Kings 
17. 24-41). The feeling of the Jews is well expressed by the Son of 
Sirach : "There be two manner of nations which my soul abhorreth ; 
and the third is no nation : they that sit upon the mountain of 
Samaria, and they that dwell among the Philistines, and that fool- 
ish people that dwell in Shechem." The Samaritans had a temple 
on Mount Gerizim, where they established a worship intended to 
rival that of Jerusalem, 

d. Per^a. The land "beyond Jordan," the ancient Gilead, had 
come to be known as Persea. It was a picturesque and fertile 
region, containing rich valleys, wooded hills, and some rocky cliffs, 
stretching out to the east, where there were barren, stony, and 
treeless tablelands. Its exact boundaries are not known. 

(2) Lesser Territories. 

a. Idum^a (or Edom). This was a term applied in the time of 
Christ to a region west of the Dead Sea, south of Judaea. 

b. Decapolis. The word means "ten cities." A group of Greek 
cities, each with some surrounding territory attached, were leagued 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 3t 

together for mutual piotection. Among others were Pella, Gadara, 
and Philadelphia. The "region of Decapolis" (Matt. 4. 25; Mark 
5. 20) was the indefinite name applied to the region in which these 
cities were situated, lying to the southeast of the Sea of Galilee. 

c. Itur^a and Trachonitis. These were two territories, the 
limits of which are not exactly known, located to the northeast of 
the Sea of Galilee. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Read Deut. i. 7; Josh. 10. 40; 11. 16; 12. 8. Note in 
these passages the distinctive parts of the West Jordan 
country are specified. 

2. Read Deut. 11. 10-17. Can you find other descriptions 
of Palestine in the Bible? 

3. Read of the battles in the Plain of Esdraelon, Judg. 4. 
4-15; Judg. 7; I Sam. 28. 1-4; 29. i ; 31. 1-6; 2 Kings 23. 
29, 30. By reference to the map, identify as many of the 
places named as you can. 

4. Locate the mountains named in the Lesson Statement. 
Note as many events associated with each as yoti can. 

5. Draw a map of Palestine as it was in New Testament 
times. 

6. Write out as many descriptive phrases as you can find 
which refer to Jerusalem. 

7. Fix in mind the place of Samaria in Israel's history by 
reading the following: i Kings 16. 24; 20. 34; 22. 39; 
2 Kings 6. 7. 17; Acts 8. 5. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Names of the Land: Palestine, Land of Canaan, Land 
of Israel, the Holy Land. 

2. Important Mountains : Hermon, Lebanon, Tabor, Gil- 
boa, Carmel, Ebal, Gerizim, OHvet. (Be prepared to locate 
each.) 

3. Important Waters : The Jordan, the Sea of Galilee, the 
Dead Sea. (Be prepared to locate and describe each.) 

4. Important Cities : Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Bethany, 
Jericho, Nazareth, Capernaum, Samaria. 

5. Principal Divisions of Palestine in New Testament 
Times: Judaea, Galilee, Samaria, Peraea. (Be prepared to 
bound each.) 



32 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

When did the name "Palestine" first come into common use? 

What was meant by "Land of Canaan"? 

Explain the use of the name "Land of Israel," "the Holy Land." 

Round the land of Palestine. 

Describe the Central Range. The Eastern Range. 

Give the principal facts concerning the Jordan River. The Sea of Galilee. The 
Dead Sea. 

Tell what you can of Jerusalem. 

Locate and give some facts of interest concerning Bethlehem, Bethany, Jericho, 
Nazareth, Capernaum, Samaria. 

Locate and describe Judaea. 

Where was Galilee? What was its extent? Its physical character? 

Describe Samaria. 

Tell what you can of Peraia. 

Where was Idumaea located ? 

What was the significance of the term "Decapolis"? 

Where were Ituraea and Trachonitis? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Physical Geography of Palestine. 

D.C. p. cxlv. H.D. p. 672. 

2. The Climate and Natural Products of Palestine. 

D.C. p. cxlv. H.D, p. 672*. 

3. The Jordan River. 

H.D. p. 493. 

4. The Dead Sea. 

H.D. p. 180. 

5. The History of Jerusalem. 

D.C. p. cxlvi. H.D. p. 437. 

6. Palestine in New Testament Times. 

H.D. pp. SOI, 279, 699, 376. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 33 



CHAPTER VI 

THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE HEBREWS 

From the dawn of Hebrew history, about B. C. 1950, to the 
beginning of the Conquest, about B. C. 1200 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 
I. HISTORICAL SUMMARY 

The beginnings of all nations are shrouded in uncertainty and in 
some degree of mystery. Accurate historical science is a new thing 
in the world. The Hebrews, as we have seen, were a branch of 
the Semitic race. They have always traced their history to Abra- 
ham, "the father of the faithful," who may he regarded in a real 
sense as the founder of the Hebrew nation. Abraham was a con- 
temporary of Hammurapi, ruler of Babylon (the Amraphel of Gen. 
14, i), whose date was approximately B. C. 1950. 

(i) The Epoch of the Patriarchs. When we catch the first 
glimpse of the Hebrew tribes they are nomads, dwellers in tents. 
They are in process of migration from a region of the southeast, 
unidentified, to Palestine. A stop was made for a time at Haran. 
From here they went on later to Palestine. Certain tribes, as 
Edom, Ammon, and Moab, broke off from the others and estab- 
lished permanent homes on the east of the Jordan. The ancestors 
of the Israelites, under the leadership of Abraham, pressed on to 
the country west of the Jordan. Here they remained for an indefi- 
nite length of time. Then, under pressure of famine, they migrated 
to Goshen, on the borders of Egypt. 

(2) The Sojourn in Egypt. Here for the first time the Israel- 
ites led a settled life. The land was fertile; conditions were favor- 
able to them ; they prospered and increased rapidly in numbers 
(Exod. I. 7). A change of dynasty brought a ruler to the throne 
"who knew not Joseph." Measures were taken first to oppress the 
Israelites by hard servitude, then to reduce their members by child- 
murder. A deliverer arose in Moses, who was inspired by Jehovah 
to rescue the people from bondage. The divine intervention and 
aid in effecting an escape from Egypt and a passage of the Red Sea 
were so marked as to make a permanent impression upon the 
national traditions of the people. They never forgot it. In the 
exodus a national consciousness came into existence. Before, they 



34 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

had been loosely federated tribes. From this time on, they are the 
nation whose God is Jehovah. 

(3) The Desert Wanderings. After a march which involved 
much hardship and privation the Israelites arrived at the holy 
mount, Horeb (or Sinai). At the foot of the mount they encamped 
and entered into a sacred covenant with Jehovah. A semblance of 
organized government was established by Moses, and important 
legislation was promulgated. The most fundamental of the laws 
were inscribed on tables of stone and placed in the ark of the cove- 
nant of Jehovah, which was thenceforth carried with the tribes in 
all their wanderings. 

In the wilderness the Israelites returned to a somewhat free and 
easy existence. At times the national spirit was weakened. Con- 
siderable time was spent at Kadesh-barnea. Meantime the Egyptian 
hold on Palestine was broken. The land was divided among many 
tribes, ruled over by petty kings. It was an auspicious time for 
conquest. The approach was made by way of the east. Sihon, king 
of the Amorites, was defeated in battle and his territory taken 
possession of. Moses, the great leader, died, and God buried him 
in a valley in the land of Moab, "but no man knoweth of his 
sepulcher unto this day." (Deut. 34. 6.) He was succeeded by 
Joshua. 

2. GREAT CHARACTERS OF THE PERIOD 

(i) Abraham. Abraham was one of the great spiritual pioneers 
of the human race. Our records make no claim of presenting a 
complete biography ; what we have is a brief series of scenes from 
a long life history, but these reveal to us a man of faith, ever 
loyal to the inward leading, of kindly and noble spirit, courageous, 
with clear vision and lofty ideas of God, who lived in intimate 
fellowship with the Most High. To this day he has been known as 
the friend of God. 

(2) Joseph. A striking and lovable character is Joseph. As a son 
he was dutiful and obedient. As a brother he was considerate and 
forgiving. As a servant he was trustworthy and efficient. His 
pure-mindedness and virtue were strikingly shown in his resistance 
to subtle and dangerous temptations. He was uncomplaining in 
misfortune, and when raised to power conducted himself with dig- 
nity and modesty. Throughout his life he realized his dependence 
upon God and manifested unwavering faith. His plan for provid- 
ing against famine showed practical v/isdom and foresight. 

(3) Moses. The training of Moses was unique. At Pharaoh's 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 35 

court he became "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." 
Later, in the desert, he had the advantage of Jethro's instruction 
and counsel. Then in the desert there came the call of God 
to his inmost soul — the revelation and experience which trans- 
formed the strong-limbed shepherd of Midian into the mighty- 
souled prophet and nation-builder. He was a mighty leader, a wise! 
lawgiver, a sage counselor, a religious statesman. If the Hebrew 
nation was founded by Abraham, it had a rebirth under Moses. 
He created a new national spirit. He cemented the tribes together 
in a new unity. He was military commander, lawgiver, priest, and 
prophet in one. He had a new consciousness of God and of his 
relation to the people. "He felt the hand of Jehovah in the wind ; 
he heard the voice of Jehovah in the storm ; he formed the tribes 
into a Jehovah people. He stamped his faith upon the nation." He 
laid the foundation for all that followed in Israelitish history. The 
reformers of later Israel attributed their reforms to him. It is 
especially significant that the higher the development reached by 
the religion of Israel, the more marked was the tendency to glorify 
Moses and his law. In a very true sense he was himself the founda- 
tion of all that came after him in the religious history of Israel. 

3. LITERATURE DEALINGvWITH THE PERIOD 
(i) Genesis. The word means "beginning." In the book are 
assembled the earliest beliefs of the Hebrews, not merely with 
regard to their own national ancestry, but with regard to the origin 
of the world and of all created things. The first eleven chapters 
form a universal background for the narratives of the Hebrew 
patriarchs. This first part has human figures, as Adam, Cain, and 
Noah, but they are race characters, while those of the second part 
are Hebrews. It is not surprising, therefore, that the traditions 
of the first part — of the creation, the fall, and the flood — are par- 
alleled in some of their features in the literature of other peoples, 
such as the Babylonians. The patriarchal narratives are distinc- 
tively Hebrew. While Genesis contains ideas from different and 
widely separated stages of religious thought, and while it reflects 
primitive religious conditions, yet throughout the whole there is 
maintained a high religious interest. The spirit and message of 
the hook are well expressed in its profoundly signiUcant opening 
words, "In the beginning, God." 

(2) Exodus. The book receives its title from the most striking 
event which it narrates, the going out, or exodus, from Egypt. 
Exodus has both law and narrative, but throughout the whole there 



36 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

is at least a thread of historical narrative. The family of the 
second part of Genesis has now become a nation of people. The 
three divisions of the book tell of (a) the oppression in Egypt and 
deliverance (i. i to 15. 21), (b) the march from the Red Sea to 
Mount Sinai (15. 22 to 18. 27), (c) Israel at Sinai (19. i to 40. 38). 

(3) Numbers. A continuation of the narrative of Exodus. Like 
Exodus, in contents it is partly legislative, partly historical narrative. 
The scope of the narrative is indicated by the titles of the three 
divisions: (a) The camp at Sinai and preparation for departure 
(i. I to 10. 10), (b) the journeyings from Sinai to the plains of 
Moab (10. II to 22. i), (c) in the plains of Moab (22. 2 to 36. 13). 

(4) Deuteronomy. The scene of Deuteronomy is in the plains 
of Moab, just previous to the beginning of the Conquest. It con- 
sists principally of three addresses of Moses, The following divi- 
sions should be noted: (a) First address (i. i to 4. 43), (b) second 
address (4. 44 to 28. 68), (c) third address (29. i to 30. 20), (d) 
appendices (31. i to 34. 12). Deuteronomy breathes the spirit of the 
great prophets of the eighth century. (See page 71.) 

4. THE RELIGION OF THE PERIOD 

(i) Earliest Religion of the Hebrews. In the patriarchal 

period, religion consisted of worship and certain observances to 
which was attached a religious significance. It was only in a minor 
degree a matter of belief. The Supreme Being was regarded with 
fear. Approach to him was for the purpose of securing favor (Gen. 
28. 16-22). There were no temples nor sanctuaries. An altar 
might be erected anywhere for sacrifice and prayer. Places identi- 
fied with manifestations of divine power or blessing were hence- 
forth regarded as sacred (Gen. 12. 8; 13. 3, 4; 26. 25). Sacrifice 
was the most important part of worship. An early form of sacrifice 
consisted of a feast in which the Deity was a partaker of the meal 
with the family. Thus the feast was an act of communion. Insti- 
tutions, such as circumcision, which was practiced by the Egyptians 
as well as by Semitic peoples, as Moab, Edom, and Ammon, were 
given a new and distinctive religious significance by the Hebrews. 
Dependence was placed in dreams. The lot was used as a means 
of discovering the divine will. Necromancy and witchcraft were 
common (i Sam. 28. 1-20). Images, household gods, were kept and 
appear not to have been regarded with religious disfavor (Gen. 
31. 19, 30-35). Conduct in many respects was on a low ethical 
level ; of this there are many evidences, which are all the more 



OF TEACHER TRAINING Z1 

significant when it is remembered that they are recorded of those 
who were religious heroes (Gen. 20. 2; 26. 6-7; 38. 12-26). 

All ancient peoples were religious. Records antedating Abra- 
ham are full of religious references. There were innumerable 
divinities and highly organized systems of worship. The gods 
were unreal, shadowy figures, feared by their votaries, but without 
power to help. Abraham heard the call of One who was a Supreme 
Person, with whom he communed and entered into covenant rela- 
tionship. Obedience to the call led Itim forth into a new and untried 
way and made of him "the father of the faithful." Thus while 
the religion of the patriarchs was characterized by many of the 
crude and crass festivities common to the times, yet in it were the 
beginnings of a better and higher faith. 

(2) Religion in the Mosaic Period. Moses inspired faith in 
Jehovah who, he declared, would deliver Israel from the bondage of 
Egypt. When the deliverance was accomplished he led the tribes 
to enter into a covenant with Jehovah, who as their deliverer was 
acknowledged to be alone entitled to their worship and service. 
This covenant was a ratification of the original covenant between 
Jehovah and Abraham, and was regarded as the solemn declaration 
of the fact that Jehovah had chosen Israel as his people and Israel 
had chosen Jehovah as their God. From this time on Israel belonged 
to Jehovah, and Jehovah zuas regarded as Israel's God, their Divine 
Friend and Saviour. 

Moses elevated religion to a new and higher plane. He declared 
(a) that Jehovah was a God of compassion, who, in his pity, 
determined to rescue them ; (b) that he was a righteous God, who 
demanded righteousness in his people; and (c) that he was the 
Divine Lawgiver, whose commands must be obeyed. Other ancient 
codes were under the sanction of religion, but there was a closer 
relationship here than anywhere else ; the law given on Sinai was 
the very word of Jehovah. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Read Gen. 11. 27 to 13. 18. Locate on a map as many 
of the places mentioned as possible. 

2. Beginning with Gen. 12. i, read as many of the narra- 
tives concerning Abraham as possible. As you read make 
lists of everything in his character and conduct either to be 
commended or to be condemned by Christian standards. 

3. Read Exod. 2. i to 4. 31. Consider what were the dif- 



38 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

ferent elements in the training of Moses for his work as de- 
liverer of his people. 

4. Read of the journey from Egypt to Sinai, Exod. 12. 37 
to 19. 2, Make note of what things in the account impress 
you most. 

5. Read Num. 13. i to 14. 45. Where did the spies go? 
What were the causes of failure to enter Palestine? 

6. Compare the Ten Commandments, Exod. 20. 1-17, with 
"the little book of the covenant," Exod. 34. 12-26. Which of 
these two codes of law is the more universal in its applica- 
tion? Which bears special evidence of agricultural con- 
ditions of life ? Are any laws exactly duplicated in the two 
codes ? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

I. THE FOUR PERIODS OF HEBREW HISTORY 

I. The Early History. (From the dawn of Hebrew his- 
tory, about B. C. 1950, to the beginning of the Conquest, 
about B. C. 1200.) 2. The Epochs of the Conquest, the 
Judges, and the United Kingdom. 3. The Divided Kingdom. 
4. The Exile and the Periods of Foreign Rule. 

2. DIVISIONS OF THE FIRST PERIOD 

(i) The Epoch of the Patriarchs. (2) The Sojourn in 
Egypt. (3) The Desert Wanderings. 

3. GREAT CHARACTERS OF THE PERIOD 

Abraham, Joseph, Moses. 

" 4. LITERATURE DEALING WITH THE PERIOD 

(i) Genesis. (2) Exodus. (3) Numbers. (4) Deu- 
teronomy. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What is to be said of the beginnings of all nations? 

To whom do the Hebrews trace their national history? 

In what state are the Hebrew tribes when we catch the first historical glimpse 
of them? 

Describe the sojourn in Egypt. 

What service was rendered to the Hebrews by the exodus? 

Tell what you can of the wandeiings in the desert. 

By reason of what qualities was Abraham an eminent religious character? 

What can you say of the character and career of Joseph? 

Give as complete a statement as possible of the life, character, and national 
services of Moses. 

State the chief facts concerning the book of Genesis. 

Of what does Exodus give the history? 

Tell of the contents of Numbers. Of Deuteronomy. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 39 

Describe the earliest religion of the Hebrews. 
What was the state of religion in the time of Moses? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Patriarchs and their Religion. 

D.C. pp. xvii^, 20. 

2. The Religion of Babylonia. 

D.C. p. xxxvii. H.D. p. 70^. 

3. The Sojourn in Egypt and the Exodus 

D.C. pp. xviii^, 462. 

4. The Work of Moses for Israel. 

D.C. p. xviii. H.D. 634. 

5. The Religious Teaching of Genesis. 

D.C. p. I. H.D. p. 289'. 

6. The Legislation of Exodus. 

D.C. p. 47 



40 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER VII 

THE EPOCHS OF THE CONQUEST, THE JUDGES, 
AND THE UNITED KINGDOM 

From the beginning of the Conquest, about 1200, to the revolt of 

Jeroboam I, 937 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. HISTORICAL SUMMARY 

(i) The Conquest. With Joshua as their leader, the Israelites 
undertook the invasion and crossed the Jordan opposite Jericho. 
While the conquest might be termed an organized movement, it 
was at the same time a migration of peoples, moving with 
women and children, flocks and herds, gradually coming to terms 
with the people of the land, sometimes by aggressive attack, more 
often by peaceful measures. Entrance to the land having been 
made from the east the fertile Jordan valley was first occupied. 
From this valley roads ran out in different directions, and along 
these highways the advance of the tribes proceeded. 

The Canaanites, who occupied the land, were themselves a 
Semitic people, akin to the Hebrews, but more highly cultured in 
the arts of civilization. Petty kings ruled over small districts. 
There were walled cities with organized city government. The 
people were skilled in agriculture. They had many gods and nu- 
merous sanctuaries, with innumerable altars, shrines, sacred trees 
and holy places. 

At first the Israelites chiefly occupied the rural districts. From 
time to time a city was taken. In the course of decades hostility was 
followed by friendliness. Then began a process of amalgamation. 
Probably only a few of the Canaanites were actually driven from 
the land. Many remained, living side by side with the Israelites, and 
intermarriages took place, resulting in racial fusion. All this had 
an effect on the religion of the Israelites. The purity of their 
desert faith was impaired. They took over the sacred shrines of 
the Canaanites and worshiped the gods of the land. Their political 
unity also was destroyed and they were split up into a number of 
small, semi-independent communities. 

(2) The Judges. Strife and warfare with Canaanites still in 
the land persisted at intervals. Various enemies from without. 



Longitude 



from 35 3o' Greenwicb 



Tlie Methodist Booi Co 



Jiew York and CincinnBti 



Coiyrighl, i:i06 snd 1912. by Charles Foster l\eut 



PERIOD OF HEBREW SETTLEMENT OF CANAAN, 1150-1050 B. C. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 41 

coming from different directions, attempted invasions. The local, 
tribal leaders who were raised up to defend their people and land 
were termed Judges. They were leaders and chieftains, such as 
Joshua had been, and might almost be styled kings, each over only a 
part of the people. Their only basis of authority was their courage 
and military skill. Some of those named in the book of Judges are 
practically unknown. The most prominent were Ehud, who re- 
sisted the attack of the Moabites ; Deborah and Barak, who put 
down the last uprising of the Canaanites ; Gideon, who delivered his 
people from the Midianites ; Jephthah, who delivered Gilead from 
the Ammonites ; and Samson, who struggled against the Philistines. 
(3) The United Kingdom. In the face of repeated attacks by 
Philistines and Ammonites, the only hope of national security lay 
in a union of the scattered tribes. Samuel the prophet perceived 
this, and with his political sagacity and religious enthusiasm suc- 
ceeded in reviving the old national spirit. The monarchy was 
decided upon as the form of government necessary to insure unity 
and provide possibility of effective defense. Samuel, as the repre- 
ijentative of Jehovah, anointed Saul as king. A new attack by the 
Ammonites furnished the opportunity for consummation. Saul 
boldly summoned the people to a combined movement. The tribes 
united in the campaign and amid great rejoicing recognized Saul as. 
king. Thus the monarchy was established. 

a. The Reign of Saul. Saul was successful in defeating the Am- 
monites at Jabesh-Gilead and, some time later, also won a decisive 
victory over the Philistines at Michmash. An aggressive expedi- 
tion was then undertaken against the Amalekites. In these cam- 
paigns the military strength of the nation was developed, Israel 
was trained in warfare, in some measure united as a nation, and 
enriched. The later years of Saul were darkened, and his fame 
dimmed, by fits of insanity. After a reign of unknown length he 
was slain in battle with the Philistines on Miount Gilboa. 

b. The Reign of David. Saul's death revealed the fact that Judah 
and the tribes of the north were not firmly cemented in union. 
David was immediately anointed king over Judah. In the north 
Abner, the general, raised Ishbaal, Saul's son, to the throne. After 
seven years of civil war, Ishbaal was assassinated and David was 
recognized as king over all Israel. In a succession of battles the 
Philistines were decisively defeated, and from this time forth ceased 
to be troublers of Israel. Encouraged by these victories, David 
went on to other and more extensive conquests. The stronghold 
of Jerusalem was captured &nd made the nation's capital. The 



42 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

kingdom was enlarged by successful wars of aggression. Its 
borders were extended possibly to the Euphrates River. In a brief 
period the transformation was made from a small, struggling 
kingdom to a conquering, ruling empire. World-wide supremacy 
now became a national ideal. A new era, that of literary life and 
development, began. A new national spirit was developed. The 
consciousness that the nation had a special work to do in the 
world, as the representative of Jehovah, was born. The reign of 
David was ever looked back to as the Golden Age, the type of a 
still greater future national glory. The later years of the reign 
were disturbed by family troubles, which in time affected the entire 
nation. 

c. The Reign of Solomon. There were two claimants to David's 
throne — Adonijah and Solomon. Adonijah was the eldest son and 
had popular favor on his side, but Solomon, favored by David, the 
court, and the prophet Nathan, was made king. He did not at- 
tempt further aggression, wisely addressing himself to internal 
development and organization. Edom and Damascus were lost 
through revolt. A treaty of reciprocity was renewed with Tyre. 
New trade relations were established. Traders and merchants 
multiplied in number. Wealth and prosperity increased. The 
nation came into the current of the world's commerce. The land 
was brought into touch with the ends of the earth and made a 
meeting point of all nations. Store cities, garrisons, palaces, and 
the temple were built. Additional impetus was given to literature. 

Increased wealth brought about extravagance and. luxury. 
Solomon enlarged the number of officials, built up a new adminis- 
trative system, and maintained his court with a magnificence and 
grandeur before unknown. Adopting the custom of other monarchs, 
he established a court harem, and numbered among his wives many 
foreign women. Some were princesses ; in this way alliances were 
made with surrounding nations. Luxury and moral and religious 
decadence were accompanied by oppression of the people, and 
unjust and burdensome taxation. Widespread discontent was 
aroused. Thus were sown the seeds the harvest of which proved 
to be national dissolution. 

2. GREAT CHARACTERS OF THE PERIOD 
(i) Joshua. The hero of the conquest was Joshua. With 
Moses and David he shares the glory of compacting the loosely 
bound tribes and building them into a nation. As a leader and gen- 
eral he was a worthy successor of Moses. Comparatively little in- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 43 

formation is given as to his personal life and character, but all we 
know of him is to his credit. He was a devout, loyal servant of 
Jehovah, who lived and died honored of his people and approved of 
God. 

(2) Samuel. In Samuel, the child of answered prayer, seer and 
prophet met. From his cradle he was dedicated to the service of 
Jehovah. He was brought up at Shiloh, under the high priest Eli. 
While yet a child he heard the voice of God, and on reaching man- 
hood's estate he had become known as a prophet throughout Israel. 
He was regarded as invested with high spiritual authority and his 
influence upon the people was very great. He perceived as few 
others of his time his country's needs, and had the wisdom, courage, 
and strength of leadership to provide a remedy. The national spirit 
originally given by Moses was revived by Samuel. He zuas domi- 
nated by one supreme idea — that Israel's mission as a nation was 
inseparably bound up with loyalty to Jehovah. From him the later 
prophets received the essence of their message, but the hope of 
national deliverance always lay in return to Jehovah. 

(3) David. In his early life David had a wide variety of experi- 
ences which had their influence in preparing him for his work as 
king. He was affected and limited by the religious customs and con- 
ceptions of his times. His life was never at any time flawless, and 
he was guilty of some gross sins. While this is true, it ought also 
to be said that he rose high above the level of his age in religious 
thought and feeling. His life exhibited many noble virtues. Though 
he grievously sinned, he manifested deep contrition, made public 
confession, and took the blame upon himself. His religious enthusi- 
asm was a strong stimulus in the direction of religious progress and 
development. In much of his work as ruler he showed himself to 
be a man after God's will and purpose. Through his military genius 
he raised Israel to the position of a power among the nations. For 
the first time in its history some degree of national stability was 
attained. 

(4) Solomon. The early prayer of Solomon was for an under- 
standing heart, and the historical records declare that this was 
granted to him, and that he became the wisest of men. He un- 
doubtedly was a learned and sagacious man, at once a philosopher 
and a poet. He was also of commanding personality. As a ruler 
he showed insight, originality, and commanding power. His 
sagacity failed, however, when it came to the matter of determina- 
tion of a national policy. To his extravagance and oppressive 
exactions was due the discontent which ultimately caused the dis- 



44 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

ruption of the kingdom. Moreover, he was unduly fond of display, 
voluptuous and sensual. His sagacious utterances formed the basis 
of the book of Proverbs. 

3. LITERATURE 

(i) Contemporary Records. Much uncertainty attaches to the 
question of the date of the earliest written records among the 
Hebrews. The Code of Hammurapi, King of Babylon (about 1950 
B. C), existed in writing several hundred years before Moses. The 
Tel-el-Amarna tablets prove that writing was practiced in Pales- 
tine before the conquest. It is evident, therefore, that laws of the 
Israelites, such, for example, as some of those of Exodus, may 
have come down from the times of Moses in written form. In the 
Old Testament books as we have them we find mention of earlier 
records, as "The Book of Jasher" (2 Sam. i. 18; Josh. 10. 13), and 
"The Book of the Wars of Jehovah" (Num. 21. 14). Incorporated 
in some of the books we also find fragments which give evidence 
of being contemporary with the events which they celebrate, as the 
"Song of Deborah" (Judg. 5. 1-31) and David's Lament over Saul 
and Jonathan (2 Sam. i. 17-27). 

(2) Literature Dealing with the Period. These books are all 
Historical Literature : 

a. Joshua. The book takes its name from its principal character, 
Joshua. The thread of history is taken up near the point at which 
Numbers dropped it. The first twelve chapters are occupied with 
the conquest, the next nine with the division of the territory among 
the tribes. The remaining chapters form an appendix. The con- 
quest and allotment are described somewhat ideally, as subsequent 
books show that complete subjugation of the land did not take place 
until much later. 

b. Judges. The book purposes to teach a great lesson, that the 
prosperity of Israel depended upon loyalty and devotion to 
Jehovah. In enforcing this truth, fragmentary historical materials 
are used. The situation pictured is a troubled one ; there was no 
central government, tribes were loosely united in temporary federa- 
tion, in times of unusual danger and stress leaders were raised up 
from among the people who accomplished deliverance. The judges 
■were thus humble leaders who ruled, not in succession over all the 
tribes, but, as need demanded, over certain sections. Some were 
doubtless contemporaries, in different parts of the land. 

c. Ruth. The events portrayed belong to the same period as 
those of Judges, with which they present a strange contrast. The 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 45 

book is valuable as showing a different phase of the life of the time, 
as well as being a beautiful and idyllic picture of domestic life. 

d. I AND 2 Samuel. The two books of Samuel were originally 
one book. The history covers a century of time, from the birth of 
Samuel to the close of David's reign. There is no attempt to give 
a detailed or comprehensive history of the nation; narratives cen- 
tering in the persons of Samuel, Saul, and David have been dove- 
tailed together into a continuous account. The books are best 
appreciated when it is considered that they are not so much a 
national history as a collection of narratives written with a re- 
ligious purpose, namely, to show that national security depended 
upon faithfulness to Jehovah. 

4. THE RELIGION OF THE PERIOD 

(i) Religious Conditions in Palestine at the Time of the 
Conquest. The Canaanites, inhabitants of the land before the 
conquest, were polytheists, that is, worshipers of many gods. Each 
local district had its Baal, or lord. These were nature divinities, 
identified with the processes of nature, and worshiped with sensual 
rites. The worship had its priests, sacred feasts, holy places in- 
cluding sacred springs, groves, and high places. Among objects 
of worship were various forms of idols and sacred poles (asherim), 
similar to the totem poles of the Alaska Indians. 

(2) The Time of the Judges and the United Kingdom. The 
greatest danger confronting the Israelites was that the pure, austere 
worship of the desert would be affected by the luxurious, corrupt, 
and sensual worship of the Canaanites. Could the Israelites con- 
quer the people and take over their land without being affected by 
their religious beliefs, customs, and practices? As the Israelites 
only in part drove out the Canaanites, coming to terms with the 
remainder by gradual amalgamation, so the religion of Israel tri- 
umphed over Baalism partly by absorption. The holy places of the 
land came to be thought of as sacred to Jehovah (Judg. 4. 5 ; 6. 11). 
The feasts of harvest and vintage were adopted. There was also a 
constant tendency to regard the Baalim as real gods of the land, 
and pay homage to them side by side with the worship of Jehovah 
(Judg. II. 24; 2 Kings i. 2). Sacrifice was practiced as a religious 
rite. There were two principal types, the burnt-offering, which was 
wholly devoted to Jehovah, and the sacrificial feast, of which a 
portion was dedicated to the deity and the remainder eaten by 
the worshipers. Images were a common possession and it would 
seem that the people did not regard their use as evil. There was 



46 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

no organized priesthood. Any man might be constituted a priest, 
but the Levites were preferred (Judg. 17. 1-13). Religious beliefs 
were crude and simple. The direct agency of Jehovah was recog- 
nized in both blessings and calamities. He bestowed health or in- 
flicted disease ; prosperity was a sign of His favor, and drought, 
famine, pestilence, attack of wild beasts, or defeat by enemies was 
certain evidence of His disfavor. Moral standards were not high, 
and cruelty, violence, and immorality were very common. Yet there 
were not a few whose true faith in a spiritual God, accompanied 
by purity of life, was a saving grace to the nation. It was thus an 
age of striking contradictions : faith, worship, the blood feud, great 
license, polygamy, and low moral ideals were all woefully inter- 
mingled. (Judg. II. I ; 16. i; 2 Sam. 3. 27). 

Prophecy had its beginnings in this period. From an early day 
prophecy represented a zeal for righteousness. Gad and Nathan 
were influential at the King's court. An act of wide significance in 
David's time was his removal of the ark to Jerusalem. This was 
the first step toward constituting in Jerusalem a central sanctuary 
of religion. The outstanding religious event of Solomon's reign 
was the building of the temple. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Read Josh. 8. i to 10. 39. Consider the situation which 
prevailed in the land as here pictured : The numerous 
kings ; lack of combined defense ; city strongholds. 

2. Read Josh. 10. 40 to 11. 23. Compare with this state- 
ment of the completeness of the conquest, Judg. i. 1-36. 
Consider also Judg. 3. 5, 6. 

3. Read as a summary of conditions during the period of 
the Judges, Judg. 2. 6 to 3. 6. As an example of a story of a 
judge read Judg. 4. 4-24. What was the work of a judge 
as described in these passages? 

4. Study the life and character of Saul, as described in 
I Sam. 9. 15-24; 10. i; 13. 1-14; 15. 10-31; 16. 14, 15. 

5. Read the account of David's successes as a warrior 
king: 2 Sam. i. i to 8. 18. Note especially the summary 
statement of chapter 8. Locate as many as you can of the 
territories named therein. 

6. What was the character of Solomon's wisdom? Make 
a written statement, after carefully considering these pas- 
sages: I Kings 3. 5-28; 4. 29-34; 10. 1-13, 23, 24; II. 1-8. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 47 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

I. THE FOUR PERIODS OF HEBREW HISTORY 

I. . 2. The Epochs of the Conquest, the Judges, 

and the United Kingdom. (From the beginning of the 
conquest, about 1200, to the revolt of Jeroboam I, 937.) 
3- • 4. . 

2. DIVISIONS OF THE SECOND PERIOD 

(i) The Conquest. 

(2) The Judges. 

(3) The United Kingdom: a. The Reign of Saul; b. The 
Reign of David; c. The Reign of Solomon. 

3. GREAT CHARACTERS OF THE PERIOD 

Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon. 

4. LITERATURE DEALING WITH THE PERIOD (all historical) 

(i) Joshua. 

(2) Judges. 

(3) Ruth. 

(4) I and 2 Samuel. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Describe the manner of the conquest. 

What can you say of the Canaanites, their civilization and their religion? 

Name some injurious effects of contact with the Canaanites. 

Describe the office and work ot the Judges. 

Name some of the most prominent of the Judges and tell what their achieve- 
ments were. 

Tell of the significance of Samuel. 

What led to the establishment of the kingdom ? 

Give the most important facts about the reign of Saul. 

What is to be said of the achievements of David as a ruler; his personal 
character; his services to religion? 

What were the elements of strength in Solomon's reign? Of weakness? 

To what extent were there contemporary records in this period? 

Give the chief facts concerning the books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, i and a 
Samuel. 

Describe religious conditions among the Israelites during this period. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Conquest. 

D.C. pp. xix, 141, 155. H.D. p. 395'°. 

2. The People of the Land and their Religion. 

D.C. pp. xxxix, 142. H.D. p. 78, art. "Baal." 

3. The Life, Character, and Achievements of one of the Judges. Gideon. 

D.C. p. 163. H.D. p. 293. 

4. The Founding of the Kingdom. 

D.C. p. xix. H.D. p. 39712. 

5. Religious Conditions during this Period. 

D.C. pp. xix, XX. H.D. p. 411H. 

6. Samuel and the Beginnings of Prophecy. 

D.C. pp. xix, xli, i79f. H.D. pp. 822, 7580. 

7. The Life and Work of David. 

D.C pp. XX, 181. H.D. pp. i77f.; 397. 



48 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE DIVIDED KINGDOM 

From the revolt of Jeroboam I, 937, to the destruction of Jerusalem 

by Nebuchadrezzar and the carrying of the captives of 

Judah to Babylon, 586 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. HISTORICAL SUMMARY 

Rehoboam, son of Solomon and Naamah, the Ammonitess, was 
the recognized heir. Judah's assent to his accession was readily 
given, but the action of the northern tribes was uncertain. An 
attempt was made to force acceptance, Rehoboam going to Shechem 
to be crowned. The people of the north demanded a reduction of 
the burden of taxation. Rehoboam arrogantly refused any con- 
cession. Immediately there was an uprising led by Jeroboam I, 
a hereditary chief of the tribe of Ephraim. The tribe of Judah and 
a part of Benjamin remained loyal to Rehoboam. All the other 
tribes joined in the revolt, made Jeroboam I their king, and 
engaged in warfare against Rehoboam. The breach was never 
healed. The empire of united Israel, after a brief history of less 
than a century, was thus abruptly brought to an end. 

(i) Causes of the Division. 

a. The Economic Cause. The heavy yoke of taxation which had 
been imposed by Solomon, necessitated by his extravagant regime, 
and which Rehoboam refused to lighten, was the immediate cause of 
division, but by no means the only one. 

b. Geographical Division. Judah was isolated, shut off by 
natural boundaries from the rest of the tribes. 

c. Ancient Spirit of Independence. The influence of the old 
free tribal life persisted. The monarchical yoke galled. The transi-. 
tion from the independent life to the burdens of monarchy had 
been too rapid. 

d. The Autocracy of the Rulers. Solomon was despotic and 
Rehoboam inherited this quality. 

e. Religious Reasons. Solomon had exhibited distinctly oriental 
tendencies in his religious policies. Glory had attached to his reign, 
but conservative religious influences had not been respected. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 49 

(2) The History of Israel. 

a. Jeroboam I (937-915?). The people of Israel little realized 
all that was involved in the separation from Judah ; they regarded 
Jeroboam's accession simply as a new dynasty coming to the throne. 
Intermittent warfare with Judah continued for many years. Jerobo- 
am's establishment was very simple ; the king was not much higher 
than his chiefs ; no attempt was made to found a royal court. The 
capital was fixed successively at Shechem, at Penuel, and at Tizrah. 
Older forms of worship were openly encouraged. Some of Jero- 
boam's territory was taken from him in war by Shishak of Egypt. 

b. Nadab (915-913?). Vigorously resisted an attack by the 
tributary city of Gibbethon. He was killed by one of his generals, 
who succeeded him, 

c. Baasha (913-889?). Was successful in warfare against Judah. 
He had a long and vigorous reign. 

d. Elah (889-887?). Gibbethon again revolted. In the struggle 
Zimri, one of the king's officers, murdered the king and seized the 
throne. 

e. Zimri (887). Was almost immediately overthrown by Omri, 
another general, who was elected king by the army. 

f. Omri (887-875?). Found his election contested, but made it 
good and ruled the kingdom successfully. He has been called the 
second founder of the kingdom. He established peace with Judah, 
strengthened his kingdom in military power, and widely extended 
commerce. He gave Israel its first real capital, Samaria, which he 
bought and fortified. 

g. Ahab (875-853?). Inherited the ability of his father. A 
former alliance with Tyre was confirmed by Ahab's marriage to 
Jezebel. She was the one wife of the king and her influence was 
very great. The political prosperity of Omri's reign was con- 
tinued and enhanced. The most significant event of the epoch was 
the entrance of Assyria as a dominant power in this region. 

h. Ahaziah (853-851?). A brief reign was brought to an end 
by the death of the king, caused by an accidental fall. 

i. Jehoram (Joram) (851-842?). Formed an alliance with 
Jehoshaphat, of Judah, against Moab. He was murdered by Jehu, 
one of his generals. The prophet Elijah was active during this and 
the two preceding reigns. 

j. Jehu (842-814?). The founder of a new dynasty. He was 
anointed king at the direction of Elisha. He exterminated the 
house of Ahab in Israel and put down Baal-worship. The latter 
part of his reign was unsuccessful from a military standpoint. 



50 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

k. Jehoahaz (814-797?). "Hazael, king of Syria, oppressed 
Israel all the days of Jehoahaz" (2 Kings 13. 22). 

1. JoASH (or Jehoash) (797-781?). His reign was chiefly char- 
acterized by military activity. The losses of Jehoahaz were recov- 
ered. 

m. Jeroboam II (781-740?). During a long and outwardly pros- 
perous reign Jeroboam II developed the nation's resources, extended 
the borders of the kingdom possibly to a limit never before reached, 
and established his court in new splendor. This is the period which 
furnishes the background of the work of Amos. There was much 
external show, but no solid foundation. 

n. Zechariah (740?). Was almost immediately killed by Shal- 
lum_. His assassination begins a period of civil war and virtual 
anarchy. 

o, Shallum (740?). Was killed within a month by Menahem. 

p. Menahem (740-737?). Paid tribute to Assyria. After a 
short reign he died a natural death. 

q. Pekahiah (737-735). Reigned two years and was murdered. 

r. Pekah (735-733"?) • Formed an alliance with Rezon of Damas- 
cus and made war upon Judah. Ahaz, king of Judah, in despair, 
sent in his submission to Tiglathpileser of Assyria. In 735-734 
Tiglathpileser advanced against the west and for two years marched 
up and down through this region. He first destroyed Damascus, 
then crushed the forces of Pekah. In the confusion, Pekah found 
death at the hands of Hoshea, his rival, who then became king as 
the vassal of Assyria. 

s. Hoshea (733-725?). The tribute levied by Assyria was very 
heavy. When Tiglathpileser died Hoshea joined with the forces 
of Egypt in revolt. Shalmaneser IV, who had succeeded to the 
Assyrian throne, advanced and made Hoshea captive. Deprived of 
their king, Israel, nevertheless, continued the warfare. Finally all 
their forces were concentrated in Samaria, the capital. Meanwhile 
Shalmaneser IV died and was succeeded by Sargon. In 722, after 
a long siege, Samaria was captured. The leading classes among 
the people, to the number, according to Sargon's account, of 27,290, 
were deported and scattered about in different parts of the Assyrian 
empire. Thus after a troubled history of some tzvo centuries the 
kingdom of Northern Israel came to an ignominious end. The 
deported peoples entirely disappeared from history, forever to be 
spoken of as the lost ten tribes of Israel. To make his conquest 
more certain Sargon brought in colonists from different parts of 
his empire and settled them in the land. From the mixture of these 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 51 

peoples with the Israelites left in the land there resulted the curious 
complex of the Samaritans. 
(3) The History of Judah. 

a. Rehoboam (937-920?). The reign of Rehoboam was in sharp 
contrast to that of Solomon. Everywhere it was brass for gold. 
The whole situation was one of poverty and weakness. The terri- 
tory was limited to a small area around Jerusalem. 

b. Abijam (920-917?). Succeeded in gaining some territory from 
Israel. 

c. Asa (917-876?). Was defeated by Baasha of Israel, and in 
despair did a disastrous thing, solicited the aid of the king of 
Damascus. 

d. Jehoshaphat (876-851?). Developed the internal resources 
of Judah. Formed an alliance with Israel by marrying his son to 
the daughter of Ahab. Thus Baalism was brought again into Judah. 

e. Jehoram (or Joram) (851-843?). "He walked in the way of 
the kings of Israel" (2 Kings 8. 18). 

f. Ahaziah (843-842?). "He walked in the way of the house of 
Ahab" (2 Kings 8. 27). He was killed by Jehu, in the latter's 
revolt against Jehoram of Israel. 

g. Athaliah (842-836?). The widow of Jehoram of Judah and 
mother of Ahaziah. On the death of her son she murdered all ex- 
cept one of the heirs to the throne and made herself ruler. Under 
her patronage Baalism was fostered in Judah. She was dethroned 
in a movement led by the priesthood. 

h. JoASH (836-796?). Was compelled to pay tribute to Hazael of 
Damascus. Joash was murdered in a palace revolution. 

i. Amaziah (796-782?). Conducted a successful campaign 
against Edom, then engaged in war with Israel, and was completely 
defeated. Jerusalem was plundered. He was murdered in a palace 
conspiracy. 

j. AzARiAH (Uzziah) {j%2-'J2)7'^-^- Devoted himself to building 
up the wasted resources of Judah. He organized and equipped an 
army, built up commerce, and established an era of prosperity for 
Judah. 

k. JoTHAM (737-735?). Was first regent, then king. There are 
almost no data concerning his reign. 

1. Ahaz (735-725?). Called upon Assyria to relieve him from 
the combined attack of Israel and Syria, and thus made himself a 
vassal. It was during his reign that the kingdom of Israel was 
destroyed. 

m. Hezekiah (725-696?). The fall of the northern kingdom had 



52 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

furnished a striking lesson. Hezekiah was an obedient vassal of 
Assyria. He repaired the temple, revived religious zeal, and 
strengthened the kingdom. 

n. Manasseh (696-641). A terrible reaction took place under 
Manasseh. He introduced Assyrian worship of the sun and stars» 
severely punished all opposition, and endeavored to put down the 
prophets. 

o. Amon (641?). Was murdered after a few months' reign, 

p. JosiAH (640-608?). As Assyria declined in power, the national 
spirit in Judah was revived. In the eighteenth year of his reign 
Josiah undertook the repair of the temple. The Book of the Law 
(Deuteronomy) was found and was made the basis for a sweep- 
ing religious reform. The idolatrous priests were put down, the 
idols and high places were destroyed. For the first time the temple 
was made the national center of formal worship. Josiah was killed 
in battle on the plain of Megiddo, withstanding an attack by Necho 
of Egypt. This was a disheartening calamity. 

q. Jehoahaz (608-607?). Was captured by Necho and taken as 
a prisoner to Egypt. 

r. Jehoiakim (Eliakim) (607-598?). First a vassal of Egypt, 
later he submitted to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. 

s. Jehoiachin (598-597). Repeated rebellion against Babylon 
resulted in the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadrezzar. Jehoiachin 
surrendered and the king inflicted punishment by deporting to 
Babylonia the court and leaders of the people, including shop- 
keepers and skilled artisans (597). He thought the remnant would 
be faithful to him, so he made Zedekiah, Jehoiachin's uncle, vassal 
ruler of Judah. 

t. Zedekiah (597-586). Egypt stirred up rebellion and Zedekiah 
joined in. Nebuchadrezzar again appeared and besieged Jerusalem. 
In July, 586, the city was taken and a considerable number of the 
population were deported to Babylonia. Thus the kingdom of Judah 
came to an end, having outlived the northern kingdom by almost 
a century and a half. 

2. GREAT CHARACTERS OF THE PERIOD 
(i) Elijah. Elijah was a stern ascetic, a man of the desert, 
a hater of the luxuries and softnesses of Oriental court life, a great 
soul on fire with a passion for Jehovah. He held that the idolatrous 
worship of Ahab and Jezebel was treason against Jehovah, and, 
believing himself to be Jehovah's instrument of vengeance, he 
set himself to accomplish the overthrow of the dynasty. Baal- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 53 

worship had become the religion of the royal court and had it not 
been overthrown would have become the national worship. In this 
time of crisis Elijah was the nation's savior. His unique char- 
acter as God's messenger, his courage and heroic deeds, and the 
greatness of his achievements so impressed the thought of the 
Israelitish people that it became a fixed belief that Elijah would 
reappear for the deliverance and restoration of Israel. Elijah is 
more frequently mentioned in the New Testament than any other 
prophet. 

(2) Elisha. In Elisha, Elijah found a successor on whom his 
mantle rested fittingly. He was more kindly and gentle than his 
master, and while less forceful had more genius for organization 
and teaching. He came to exercise a larger influence, became a 
participant in the actual determination of national affairs, and did 
much during his age to keep alive a strong and pure faith in Je- 
hovah. 

(3) Amos. With Amos written prophecy begins. See therefore, 
"Literature of the Period," below. 

(4) Hosea. See "Literature of the Period." 

(5) Isaiah. See "Literature of the Period." 

(6) Jeremiah. See "Literature of the Period." 

3. LITERATURE OF THE PERIOD 
(i) Historical Literature. 

a. Kings, i and 2 Kings form one continuous narrative, embrac- 
ing the history of the period from^ the closing years of David's 
reign to the exile, about four centuries. This narrative, probably 
written somewhere near the close of the period, is dependent upon 
earlier sources, three of which are named, the Acts of Solomon (i 
Kings II. 41), the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (i Kings 14. 
29), and the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel (i Kings 14. ig). In 
general, the material is fragmentary and very scanty, but what 
information is given is reliable and accurate. The material pre- 
sented was evidently chosen with a view to its value in teaching 
religious lessons. 

(2) Prophetico-Legal Literature. 

a. Deuteronomy. While Deuteronomy is a distinct version of 
the Law, it reflects the spirit and teaching of the prophets Amos, 
Hosea, and Isaiah. Both priest and prophet had a part in the 
making of it. It is therefore called prophetico-legal literature. 
Its most prominent principles are : Its emphasis on the importance 
of worship at the central sanctuary, with its prohibitions of worship 



54 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

at the high places, freely practiced under religious sanction even in 
the days of Elijah; its humanitarian spirit, inculcating kindness to 
fellow men, even slaves, and to beasts of burden ; its insistence upon 
love and service as the supreme demand of Jehovah. 
(3) Prophetic Literature. 

a. Amos. The earliest of the Old Testament prophetic books. 
The book gives several particulars concerning the prophet himself. 
He was a "shepherd" of Tekoa, a barren section of the south of 
Bethlehem, and a "gatherer of sycomore fruit," called of the Lord 
to prophesy as he "followed the flock." He disclaimed being a 
prophet by profession or education ; his words were in no sense 
dictated by self-interest. His recorded messages were delivered 
not in Judah, but at the royal sanctuary of Israel, at Bethel. He 
attacked greed, bribery, dishonesty, violence, injustice, and oppres- 
sion of the poor and weak. His teaching marked an epoch in the 
religious history of the race. He taught that Jehovah is the one 
God, that he rules over other peoples as well as over Israel, that 
he is just and righteous, that he demands these qualities in his 
subjects, and that without these outward worship is hateful in his 
sight. 

b. HosEA. Following a few years after Amos came Hosea, whose 
message was in much the same spirit. To Amos's conception of 
the righteousness of Jehovah Hosea adds the element of pitying, 
unquenchable love. The form of his message grew out of his own 
experience as a husband and father. 

c. Isaiah. Ere the ministry of Hosea closed, the prophetic career 
of Isaiah opened, to be continued for a period of forty years, 
embracing the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. The prophet 
lived in Jerusalem, was married, and had two sons. His free access 
to the royal court suggests that he himself was of noble lineage. In 
the character and work of Isaiah, Jewish prophecy reached high 
tide. He was preacher, poet, and statesman. "Every resource of 
teacher, orator, and poet was his. No other prophet had his power 
of imagination and expression." To the message of Amos and 
Hosea he added the conception of the ineffable holiness of Jehovah. 
He pronounced judgment upon northern Israel and Judah, but 
declared that a remnant would be spared through which the highest 
glory of Israel would be achieved. 

d. MiCAH. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah. He spoke from 
the standpoint of the peasants among whom he lived. In the name 
of Jehovah, the just and righteous God, he cried out against the 
injustice, the oppression, and the greed of the rich and the powerful. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING SS 

e. Zephaniah. The prophet Zephaniah exercised his ministry in 
the time of Josiah, a century later than Isaiah. Characterized by 
great moral earnestness, he was preeminently a prophet of judgment. 

f. Nahum. Nahum voices a decree of divine judgment upon 
bloodthirsty Assyria. 

g. Habakkuk. The book of Habakkuk, unique in form, consists 
largely of a dialogue between the prophet and Jehovah. It is one 
of the earliest examples of reflective thought upon the workings 
of Providence in history. 

h. Jeremiah. One of the greatest and most significant of the 
prophets was Jeremiah, whose long prophetic ministry extended 
through the reigns of Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and 
Zedekiah. During this troubled time, when the nation was being 
crushed out of existence, religion became more and more an inward 
revelation. The change first took place in the prophet's own life, 
after which he became the spokesman and prophet of the inner 
revelation. God's will would he written in the hearts of those who 
knew him; the people would become a nation of prophets. 

i. Obadiah. The book of Obadiah is concerned with the fortunes 
of Edom. Disaster has already befallen her, and further judgment 
is in store for her. This is interpreted as Jehovah's judgment 
on the Edomites for their share in the destruction of the Jewish 
nation. 

4. THE RELIGION OF THE PERIOD 

(i) In Israel. Israel had no central sanctuary such as the 
temple in Jerusalem ; this encouraged the increase of worship at 
the "high places," former heathen shrines. Idolatrous practices were 
revived. Shrines at Bethel and Dan were regarded with especial 
reverence. Here Jehovah was worshiped under the emblem of a 
calf, a custom the associations of which were debasing in their 
influence. The situation became intolerable with the advent of 
Jezebel, who brought with her all the paraphernalia of Phoenician 
Baalism, including many priests whose rites were barbarous, bloody, 
and cruel. It was at this crisis that Elijah appeared as divinely 
commissioned deliverer of the nation. 

(2) In Judah. In Judah, religious affairs at first were but little 
better than in Israel. Rehoboam seems to have imitated the reli- 
gious policy of Jeroboam. Later, however, the dark picture is 
relieved somewhat. Several religious revivals were fostered by 
royal authority. The first was under Asa. Again, in the reign of 
Hezekiah an attempt was made to suppress the high places through- 
out Judah, and center all worship in the temple. Most significant 



56 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

was the reformation under Josiah. Under the inspiration of the 
teaching of Deuteronomy the "high places" in Judah were forever 
destroyed. The idolatrous priests were dispersed. For the first 
time in IsraelitisJi history the temple became the national center of 
worship. The significance of this can scarcely be overestimated. 
For example, the whole character of sacrifice was changed. There- 
after sacrifice was offered only in the temple. Sin and atonement 
ofiferings assumed increasing importance. The priest gradually 
became the central religious -figure. 

(3) Development under the Prophets. Throughout the whole 
period there was a gradual spiritual development, due to the influ- 
ence and work of the prophets. The prophets of the eighth 
century far surpassed any who had preceded them in the purity of 
their spiritual ideals, in their exalted moral conceptions of Jehovah's 
character and will, in the intensity and persistency of their devo- 
tion, and in their clear and profound teaching as to the basis of 
real relationship to God. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Read i Kings 12. 1-24. Make note of all suggestions 
as to causes of the division. 

2. Read i Kings, chapters 17 to 19; 2 Kings, chapter 2. 
What kind of a man v^as Elijah ? Write down his character- 
istics as you see them. 

3. Read Amos, chapters 3 to 6. What v^ere the specific 
sins for v^hich the prophet rebuked Israel? 

4. Read as many of the chapters of Isaiah i to 12 and 
28 to 32 as your time will permit. As you read, consider : 
a. The number and variety of literary figures; b.The atti- 
tude of the prophet toward sacrifice ; c. The relation of the 
prophet to affairs of state. 

5. Read Deut. 12. 1-28. When were these directions as to 
the place of sacrifice put into effect? Also read 6. 1-15 ; 10. 
12-22; II. 13-21. Consider: The supreme demand of Deu- 
teronomy as declared in these passages. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

I. THE FOUR PERIODS OF HEBREW HISTORY 

3. The Divided Kingdom. (From 



the revolt of Jeroboam I, 937, to the carrying of the captives 
of Judah to Babylon, 586.) 4. . 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 57 

2. DIVISIONS OF THE THIRD PERIOD 

(i) Causes of the Division. 

(2) The History of Israel. (Be prepared to state the 
principal facts.) 

(3) The History of Judah. (Be prepared to state the 
principal facts.) 

3. GREAT CHARACTERS OF THE PERIOD 

Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah. (Be ready 
to locate each in the history of the period.) 

4. LITERATURE OF THE PERIOD 

( 1 ) Historical : i and 2 Kings. 

(2) Prophetico-Legal : Deuteronomy. 

(3) Prophetic: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Who was the recognized heir of Solomon? 
Describe the circumstances of the uprising of Jeroboam I. 
State the chief causes of the division. 

Describe the main course of events in Israel from the accession of Jeroboam 
to the deportation of the tribes to Assyria. 
How many kings had Israel? 

What was the date of the deportation, the end of Israel's history? 
Who was the first king of Judah? 
Describe the main course of events in Judah. 
How did the kingdom of Judah come to an end? The date? 
How long did the kingdom of Judah survive Israel? 
Describe the character and the ministry of Elijah. 
Compare Elisha and his work with Elijah. 
What is to be said of i and 2 Kings as history? 
What are the principal teachings of Deuteronomy? 

Tell of the life and message of Amos. Of Hosea. Of Isaiah, Of Micah. 
What is the special significance of Jeremiah? 
Characterize the religion of Israel in this period. 
Tell of religious conditions in Judah in this period. 
What is to be said of the work of the eighth century prophets? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Division of the Kingdom and Its Causes. 

D.C. pp. XX, 220. H.D. p. 399. 

2. Most Important Events in the History of the Period. 

H.D. pp. 399-404. 

3. The Life and Work of Elijah. 

H.D. p. 215. _ D.C. pp. XXl4, 223ff. 

4. The Religious Significance of Amos. 

H.D. pp. 284,8. 7583. D.C. pp. 562! 

5. The Prophecy of Isaiah; Historical Setting and General Character. 

D.C. p. 409ff H.D. pp. 386, 3875. 

6. The Reformation of Josiah. 

H.D. pp. 404, 499. D.C. p. 244. 

7. The Religious Significance of Jeremiah. 

H.D. p. 4332. D.C. p. 45 7«. 



58 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER IX 
THE EXILE AND EPOCHS OF FOREIGN RULE 

From the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadrezzar and the 
carrying of the captives to Babylon B. C. 586, to the destruction 
of Jerusalem by Titus, of Rome, A. D. 70. 

L LESSON STATEMENT 

I. HISTORICAL SUMMARY 

(i) The Babylonian Captivity (586-538). In exile some of the 
Jews were permitted to "build houses and plant gardens" (Jer. 
29. 5) and live together in Jewish settlements under their own 
elders (Ezek. i. i; 8. i; 14. i ; 20. i). Others suffered oppression 
(Jer. 29. 21 f.), and some were put to task-work (Isa. 14. 3f.). 
Many became so well content with their condition in Babylonia 
that they did not care to return. 

(2) The Persian Age (538-332). Fifty years after the begin- 
ning of the captivity, the overthrow of Babylon by the Persians 
wrought a great change in the fortunes of the exiles. Almost 
immediately Cyrus, in accordance with his fixed custom of religious 
toleration, permitted measures to be taken for the restoration of 
Jerusalem. A return of exiles in 538 was led by Sheshbazzar. The 
foundation of the temple was laid (Ezra 5. 16). But the returned 
exiles were few in number, the people of the land were hostile, no 
reenforcements came from Babylon, and comparative inaction seems 
to have resulted. About twenty years later Zerubbabel was in 
authority in Jerusalem as governor, and a high priest named Joshua 
in charge of the worship at the rebuilt altar. The prophets Haggai 
and Zechariah led in a new movement for the building of the temple 
and the work of reconstruction was completed in 516. 

With this year a break in the biblical records occurs. There is 
a great gap (516-458) on which we have no light. We know only 
that this was a period of general unsettledness and depression. The 
returned exiles were scattered throughout Judaea, their high reli- 
gious ideals declined, and they became lax in their relations with 
outsiders. Leadership in the community gradually came into the 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 59 

hands of the priesthood. In the East a most important work was 
being accomplished by the remaining exiles. In schools or commu- 
nities of scholars, the law was being worked out into definite form 
and codified. It had come to be realized that only by means of the 
law could the religious separateness of the people unto Jehovah be 
maintained. 

The reign of Artaxerxes I (465-424) was a period of restoration 
throughout the Persian empire. In 458 Ezra the scribe headed a 
new expedition for the purification of worship at Jerusalem and the 
more rigid enforcement of the law in the community. He was 
invested with large power and was permitted to draw upon the royal 
treasury for the maintenance of the temple worship. For some 
reason, not entirely clear, his mission failed. 

In 445 Nehemiah, a layman but an officer of the Persian govern- 
ment, was commissioned to go as governor to rebuild and fortify 
the city. In the face of great difficulties he accomplished his task 
in fifty-two days. Ezra the scribe reappeared, a covenant was en- 
tered into by the people on the basis of the sacred law, and the 
priestly ideal of life and religion was accepted. The people were 
now no longer a nation; they were a religious community. The 
national spirit and hope, however, were not lost. 

Opposition to the policies and work of Nehemiah on the part of 
the people of the land led to a division and to the establishment of 
a separate Samaritan worship at Gerizim. 

There follows a century of silence (432-332). There is no Old 
Testament narrative history dealing with the events of this period. 
During this time the Hebrew language was supplanted by the 
Aramaic, which became the common language of commerce for 
the whole region. 

(3) The Greek Age (332-167). In 333 Alexander the Great 
began his conquest of the East. In 332 he gained control of Syria, 
and in three great battles destroyed the Persian empire. His empire, 
short-lived, was succeeded by Greek kingdoms, two of which were 
the kingdom of Ptolemy in Egypt (established 323) and that of the 
Seleucidse in Syria (founded 312). These two kingdoms were in 
constant war with each other, and the common fighting ground was 
Palestine. 

a. Jerusalem under the Ptolemies (301-198). In 301 Ptolemy I 
secured Palestine and Greek-Egyptian rule was established. Greek 
cities grew up in Palestine. Jerusalem flourished. Their skill in 
commerce brought the Jewish people into Greek favor and they 
became widely dispersed throughout the Greek world. At Alex- 



6o FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

andria in Egypt was established the most famous Jewish colony, 
widely known for its culture and learning. The Septuagint version 
of the Old Testament was made here. In Jerusalem the high priest 
governed the community, subject only to an annual tribute. The 
Senate, or Sanhedrin, a council of elders, was established. 

b. Jerusalem under the Seleucid^ (198-167). Gradually hos- 
tility against the Ptolemean rule developed. When in 198 Antiochus 
the Great, of Syria, defeated Ptolemy Epiphanes in decisive struggle, 
Jerusalem opened its gates to the conqueror. Antiochus was favor- 
ably disposed toward the Jews. His successor, Antiochus IV, was 
determined on the spread of Greek civilization. In 170 he entered 
Jerusalem and plundered the temple. In 168 he made definite plans 
for the overthrow of the Jewish religion. Opposed, he went to 
Jerusalem and undertook to root out Judaism. Colonists were 
brought in and Jerusalem was turned into a Greek city. All wor- 
ship was forbidden on penalty of death. Many went over to Hel- 
lenism, many of the faithful fled, many others suffered martyrdom 
for the faith. The image of Jupiter was set up in the temple. Fi- 
nally at a country village, Modein, the family of Mattathias raised 
the standard of revolt ; thus began the Maccabean struggle. 

(4) The Maccabean Age (167-63). From the family of the 
Maccabees, Mattathias the head being the father of five sons, there 
came a remarkable series of native Jewish leaders in a long and 
terrible struggle for religious and political freedom. The first, 
Judas Maccabeus, battled against great odds, but he so far suc- 
ceeded that in 165 the temple was rededicated. By 162, complete 
freedom of worship had been secured. But in this struggle the old 
national spirit had been reborn. The fight for political independence 
followed and was won in 142. The nezv Jewish state under the 
Maccabees was then established. There followed a long period of 
external warfare and internal discord. The state, a combination 
of politics and religion, was a house divided against itself, and 
essentially weak. The Maccabean line gradually degenerated. 
Finally, in 6z, the Roman- general, Pompey, appealed to by both 
sides in a civil war, from pretended peacemaker became conqueror 
and made the land tributary to Rome. 

(5) The Roman Age (B. C. 63- A. D. 70). Jewish national 
independence was nozv -finally and forever lost. The entire Jewish 
territory was divided among several Roman dependents and Judaea 
was constituted a minor province of the empire. In B. C. Z7 Herod 
the Great was made king of Judaea. He was in power when Jesus 
was born in Bethlehem, 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 6i 

2. GREAT CHARACTERS OF THE PERIOD 
(i) Ezekiel. A priest and prophet, one of the exiles, whose 
active work as a prophet was done while living in a Jewish settle- 
ment near the river Chebar, "probably a canal or tributary of the 
Euphrates near Babylon." In his early life he had sat under Jere- 
miah's preaching. He was a man of broad experience, with a wide 
knowledge of the life of his time, strongly imaginative, stern and 
uncompromising toward the common sins of his day. He felt as a 
pastor the burden of the care of the souls of the people. He might 
well be called the prophet of individual responsibility. 

(2) Ezra. A man of priestly family, a copyist, student, inter- 
preter, and teacher of the Law, therefore called a scribe. He had 
"prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and 
to teach in Israel statutes and judgments" (Ezra 7. 10). The 
records are not sufficiently full to make clear the relation between 
the work of Ezra and that of Nehemiah. His first expedition was 
rendered fruitless, probably by the religious indifiference of the 
people and their opposition to the strict edict of separation which he 
promulgated. Later he aided Nehemiah. His devotion and zeal 
for the Law exalted it to a place which it had never before had, 
and in this way he influenced all succeeding Jewish life. 

(3) Nehemiah. Our earliest information of Nehemiah is when 
he had already attained to the responsible position of cup-bearer to 
Artaxerxes I. That he was beloved and trusted by the Persian 
king is shown by the equipment furnished for his expedition. 
He was a shrewd, tactful, vigorous, forceful, God-fearing man, 
whose work for his people and his religion was important and 
enduring, Josephus well says : "He was a man of good and right- 
eous character, . . . and he hath left the walls of Jerusalem as 
an eternal monument of himself." 

(4) Judas Maccabeus. Well named "the hammer of God." He 
was God's chosen instrument to withstand a subtle influence from 
within and a determined purpose from without to supplant the 
Jewish religion by the heathen worship of Greece. He was a 
warrior by nature, and in his campaigns against vastly superior 
forces exhibited a generalship which has seldom been surpassed. 
With military genius was combined a deep piety. He lived and 
fought not for personal power or glory, but as the agent of God in 
a great cause. Few characters of history are worthy in purity and 
unselfishness of motive to stand beside him. By some he has been 
compared to David, but he was nobler and purer. He came at a 
time when the whole civilized world was moving toward the adop- 



62 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

tion of Greek civilization, and the Jews were fast being swept into 
the current. He won a decisive victory; never again was the 
attempt made to supplant the Jewish religion by Hellenism. 

3. LITERATURE OF THE PERIOD 

(i) Priestly History and Legal Literature. 

With the beginning of the exile the continuous historical 'nar- 
rative contained in the Old Testament ceases. The books of Ezra 
and Nehemiah contain a fragmentary history of only a small sec- 
tion of the period covered by this lesson. 

a. Chronicles. These books, with Ezra and Nehemiah, originally 
formed one book. They are history written from the priestly stand- 
point. Therefore, the interest is priestly and religious rather 
than historical. The genealogical lists start with Adam, but the 
thread of narrative is taken up with the death of Saul and the 
accession of David. Much of the material of Kings is duplicated, 
but it is the line of David and the temple history with which the 
chronicler is chiefly concerned. There is very little account of the 
history of northern Israel. The priests and Levites figure promi- 
nently. The books as they now stand are compilations, and the 
whole viewpoint suggests that the compiler was a Levite who lived 
after the return from the exile. 

b. Ezra, The book of Ezra uses history to teach religious lessons. 
It does not give a continuous history, but selects episodes here and 
there. It gives an account of the return from the exile (538), the 
rebuilding of the temple (520-516), and the expedition of Ezra 
(458). It differs from the earlier historical books in that the writer 
had larger access to contemporary records. 

c. Nehemiah. The book of Nehemiah deals with the period 
from 445 to 432 B. C. It tells of the work of Nehemiah and 
Ezra in the rebuilding of the wall and the restoration of the temple 
service in Jerusalem, {We have no Old Testament historical nar- 
rative dealing with times later than the close of Nehemiah.) 

d. Esther. The book of Esther has for its scene of action the 
Persian court of Xerxes. It is a striking story, the purpose of 
which is to show that God protects his people and destroys his 
enemies. In it the best and the worst elements of Jewish char- 
acter are vividly portrayed. 

e. Leviticus. The book of Leviticus presents the ceremonial 
law of Judaism in its most complete and detailed form. Its ideal 
of complete separation, of extensive and elaborate sacrifices, of 
exact ceremonial forms, perfectly administered, was probably only 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 63 

realized in the religious community of Jerusalem after the return 
from the exile. But as it was then recognized as "the law of 
Moses," it would seem that it was the result of a gradual develop- 
ment through a long previous period. 
(2) Prophetic Literature. 

a. Isaiah (40-66). (The Unknown Prophet of the Exile.) The 
general theme of these chapters is Israel's restoration from the exile. 
All are pervaded by a deep spiritual consolation and a triumphant 
hope. They have been well described as "the most brilliant jewel of 
prophetic literature." 

b. EzEKiEL. The first part of the book is concerned with the sins 
of the people and their punishment. The prophet cries out against 
false hopes of restoration and seeks to overthrow the unfounded 
faith of the people that Jerusalem is impregnable. With the destruc- 
tion of the city in 586 he declares that his warnings have been veri- 
fied, but, moved with compassion, his note of doom is changed to 
one of hope. "For his name's sake" Jehovah will restore his 
people in a purified, glorious, and prosperous Israel. A striking 
characteristic of the book is its elaborate and detailed visions, the 
beginning of the symbolic style of writing which developed into 
the later apocalyptic literature. 

c. Haggai. With his contemporary Zechariah, Haggai was com- 
missioned to arouse the people to interest and activity in rebuilding 
the temple. To this end he uses direct, unadorned, and forceful 
speech. Four discourses are combined in the book into a continu- 
ous narrative. 

d. Zechariah. Though his purpose is the same, Zechariah's lit- 
erary method is very different from that of Haggai. For the most 
part the book is composed of a series of visions, the symbolism of 
some of which is so involved and obscure as to make the interpreta- 
tion uncertain. 

e. Malachi. The interest of Malachi centers in the gifts and 
dues for the maintenance of the temple service and the support of 
the priesthood. Righteousness and faithfulness in priest and people 
are inculcated. 

f. Joel. The occasion of the prophecies of Joel was a plague of 
locusts so severe as to cause famine and the cessation of the temple 
offerings. This is interpreted as a foretoken of the Day of Jehovah. 
Calamity may be turned aside by repentance, accompanied by grief, 
fasting, and solemn assembly. 

g. Jonah. This book by means of imagery familiar to the people 
of the time utters a remarkable protest against the narrowness and 



64 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

bitterness of the Jews in the age of separation. The outside world, 
as well as the Jewish nation, is the object of Jehovah's compassion 
and love. 

h. Daniel. For the most part, the book of Daniel is a narrative 
history, part of which is written in symbolic and predictive form. 
It represents the culmination of the tendency to apocalyptic writ- 
ing, which prevailed during the later pre-Christian centuries. 

(3) Devotional and Wisdom Literature. 

a. Lamentations. The book of Lamentations consists of five 
independent poems, artistic in form, which bewail the miseries of 
fallen Jerusalem and the captive people. 

b. Job, Proverbs^ Ecclesiastes^ and Song of Solomon. The 
final editions, at least, of these books, date from this period. (For 
further treatment see page 94.) 

c. Psalms. The Psalms date from different epochs of Israel's 
history beginning with the period of the monarchy, but the exile, the 
Persian age, and the Greek age, were especially fruitful in the 
production of psalms. (For further treatment see page 91.) 

4. THE RELIGION OF THE PERIOD 

We name certain outstanding characteristics of the religion of 
the period : 

(i) The Dominance of Priestly Ideals. In this period prophet- 
ism rapidly waned and priestly ideals became dominant. Some of 
the prophets, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel, were themselves priests. 
Prophetic indifference to ritual services ceased and the prophet 
became the "handmaid" of the priesthood. The religion of the 
period is now called Judaism. Its center was the temple and the 
temple worship. The law was magnified. Old codes were rewritten, 
enlarged, and given their final form. The importance of the priests 
increased. The office of priest was more strictly limited. The 
priesthood was organized no longer in clans and families, but in 
courses. The law of holiness was enjoined; certain meat was not 
to be eaten, distinctions between clean and unclean were observed, 
and a rigid separation between Jews and all other peoples was 
enforced. 

(2) Purity of Religious Life. The people became more sincere 
and single-hearted in their devotion to Jehovah than ever before. 
A vigorous spiritual life prevailed. Religion became more individu- 
alistic, and religious feeling deepened. Men lived a more holy 
life. The significance of sacrifice became that of purification from 
sin. Worship was more intelligent and breathed a truer devotion. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 65 

Out of the intense feeling and true religious experience of the 
period, which represents the Jewish religion at its best, came the 
Psalter in its completed form, 

(3) The Gradual Decadence of Religion. "From absorption 
in religious ceremonies to formality in worship is a simple journey. 
The means became more important than the end." The more the 
Law was exalted as the means of salvation, the more extended, 
numerous, and detailed its provisions became, and the more the 
impossibility of sincere obedience to it grew. Thus in time the 
multitudinous services and ceremonies of the temple became with 
many of the people merely an empty form. During the latter part 
of the Greek age religion reached such a low ebb that the office of 
high priest was commonly made the object of trade and barter. 
More than one appointee secured his place through fraud and brib- 
ery. 

(4) New Developments. 

a. Rise of the Synagogue. Early in this period we have the rise 
of the synagogue, the religious school of Judaism, 

b. Rise of Parties. In Maccabean times there came to be two 
principal religious parties, the Pharisees, composed of those who 
held to strict and literal obedience of the Law, and the Sadducees, 
who were favorably inclined toward the Greek civilization. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Read Ezek., chapters 2, 3, 18. What were the things 
which Ezekiel was called to do? Note Ezekiel's interest in 
and care for the individual. 

2. Read Ezra, chapters i to 6. Note the work accom- 
plished by the returned exiles, first under Sheshbazzar, later 
under Zerubbabel. 

3. Read Haggai. Distinguish the different addresses. 
Take note of : Brevity, direct address, forcefulness. 

4. Read Neh., chapter i ; 4. 6-23 ; 8. 1-12. Note : The con- 
dition of Jerusalem at the beginning of Nehemiah's work; 
the zeal with which the building of the wall was carried for- 
ward ; the way in which the law was brought to the people. 

5. Read Lev. i. Consider: With what detail the manner 
of the burnt offering is specified. When was extreme atten- 
tion given to the details of ceremonial forms? 

6. Read i Maccabees, chapters 2 to 4. Note : The con- 
dition of the temple and its worship ; the devout spirit of 



66 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Mattathias and his sons; the miHtary genius of Judas. 
(Usually the large pulpit or family Bibles contain the 
Apocryphal books, including i Maccabees.) 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. THE FOUR PERIODS OF HEBREW HISTORY 

^' • ^- • 3- • 4- The Exile and Epochs 

of Foreign Rule. (From the carrying of the captives of 
Judah to Babylon, B. C. 586, to the destruction of Jerusalem 
by Titus of Rome, A. D. 70.) 

2. DIVISIONS OF THE FOURTH PERIOD 

(i) The Babylonian Captivity, 586-538. 

(2) The Persian Age, 538-332. 

(3) The Greek Age, 332-167. 

(4) The Maccabean Age, 167-63. 

(5) The Roman Age, B. C. 63-A. D. 70. 

3. GREAT CHARACTERS OF THE PERIOD 

Ezekiel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Judas Maccabeus. (Be pre- 
pared to locate each in the history of the period and to give 
main facts concerning each.) 

4. LITERATURE OF THE PERIOD 

(i) Priestly History and Legal: Chronicles, Ezra, Nehe- 
miah, Esther, Leviticus. 

(2) Prophetic: Isaiah (chapters 40 to 66), Ezekiel, Hag- 
gai, Zechariah, Malachi, Joel, Jonah, Daniel. 

(3) Devotional and Wisdom Literature; Lamentations, 
the Wisdom Books, the completion of the Psalter. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Give the principal facts concerning the Babylonian captivity. 

What was the attitude of the Persians toward the captives? 

Describe and tell of the results of the first and second return. 

"What do we know of the expedition of Ezra? 

Give particulars concerning the work of Nehemiah. What followed? 

How was the period of Greek rule introduced? 

Tell of Jerusalem under the Ptolemies. Of the rule of the Seleucidae. 

What was the cause of the Maccabean uprising? 

Give leading facts concerning the Maccabean Age. 

How was the Roman rule established? 

Characterize Ezekiel; Ezra; Nehemiah; Judas Maccabeus. 

What are the principal facts stated in the lesson concerning Chronicles? Ezra? 
Nehemiah? Leviticus? Isaiah (40 to 66)? Ezekiel? Jonah? Lamentations ?_ 

What can you say concerning the dominance of priestly ideals in this period.? 
Concerning the religious life? Concerning the influence of religious forms? 

What new religious developments should be noted? 



OF TEACHER TRAINING (^y 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Life of the Captives in Exile. 

D.C. p. 269. H.D. p. 4osP). 

2. The Work and Influence of Ezekiel. 

D.C. pp. 488-49ov,^^^l°.^^ h.d. pp. 251, 414W. 

3. The Life and Work of Ezra. 

H.D. p. 253. 

4. The Life and Work of Nehemiah. 

H.D. p. 650. 

5. The Priesthood in Post-Exilic Times. 

H.D. p. 75 off. 

6. Jewish History During the Greek Age. 

D.C. pp. xlixff.s,6,7; ixixs. H.D. p. 40625. 

7. The Career and Achievements of Judas Maccabeus. 

D.C. p. 18. H.D. pp. 5622, 4o626. 

8- The Apocryphal Literature of the Period. 

D.C. p. liiiff. H.D. pp. 4if., 416". 



68 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

CHAPTER X 

ISRAELIS PRIESTS AND THE SACRED LAW 
I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. THE PRIEST IN THE DIFFERENT PERIODS OF ISRAEL'S HISTORY 

(i) Priests during the Period of Early History. Priests were 
common to all ancient religions. They had oversight of the shrine 
or place of worship and were in charge of the symbols or images of 
the Deity. They probably existed from earliest times among the 
Hebrews, but the performance of religious rites was not restricted 
to them, since men who were not priests commonly offered wor- 
ship, including sacrifice. Numerous examples are given in the 
Scripture history. Instances are : Abraham, Noah, and "young men 
of the children of Israel" (Gen. 8. 20; 12. 8; 22. 13; Exod. 24. 5). 

Priests are first specifically mentioned in records of the time of 
Moses (Exod. 19. 22). On the occasion of the idolatry of the 
golden calf the tribe of Levi, by its loyalty, won special religious 
recognition. In subsequent times Levites were preferred as priests. 
In the narrative of Judges 17, Micah is represented as consecrat- 
ing one of his sons as priest, but when an opportunity offered of 
engaging a Levite as priest, it was eagerly seized. It seems prob- 
able that Moses, in his religious ceremonial, designated his own 
tribe of Levi as especially set apart for the priestly office (Deut. 33. 
8-1 1 ; 10. 8-9). Gradually it came to be looked upon as the priestly 
tribe, but until much later times others than Levites also exercised 
priestly functions. 

In this early period the duties of the priest were recognized to be, 
chiefly, to guard the sacred symbols and to administer rites of 
worship ; to bless or curse in the name of Jehovah ; and to give 
counsel, especially in matters pertaining to forms and ceremonies 
of religion, but also in the more ordinary affairs of life. 

(2) Priests during the Epochs of the Conquest, the Judges, 
and the United Kingdom. We have seen that in Canaan the 
Israelites took over the sacred places of the Canaanites and there 
established the worship of Jehovah. The Levites, who had come 
to be in demand as priests, doubtless presided over most of these 
sanctuaries. Men not of the tribe of Levi continued to perform 
priestly functions. Notable examples are : Samuel, an Ephraimite ; 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 69 

Gideon, a Manassite; and Saul, a Benjamite (i Sam. i; Judges 6; 
I Sam. 13. 9-12). Certain of David's sons were priests, and both 
Solomon and David themselves acted as priests (i Kings 8. 5ff. ; 9. 
25 ; 2 Sam. 6. 17). 

The priests administered justice, gave counsel as to the divine 
will, taught the people, and officiated at the sanctuaries and places 
of worship. In ascertaining the will of Deity, use was made of the 
Urim and Thummin. Their exact nature and the manner of con- 
sulting them are not now clearly understood. 

(3) Priests during the Period of the Divided Kingdom. The 
history of the period gives little information. It is clear that others 
than Levites were regarded as eligible, since Jeroboam constituted 
men from all the tribes priests (i Kings 12. 31). The line of Aaron 
among the Levites had probably attained to prominence, and in 
Judah, with the centralization of worship in the temple, the reli- 
gious importance of the priests was greatly increased. The ritual 
became more elaborate. Public offerings were maintained by the 
king and presented by the priest (cf. 2 Kings 16. 15). The develop- 
ment of the priestly system probably advanced more rapidly than 
during any previous epoch. 

(4) Priests during the Exile and the Epochs of Foreign Rule. 
During the exile, priestly ideals grew rapidly In strength and be- 
came dominant. With the rebuilding of the temple, its worship was 
reorganized and made elaborate. The unity of the altar and the 
sanctuary was now taken for granted as a settled principle. Reli- 
gious rites were now a matter of public ritual, an affair of the 
priesthood. Daily worship In the name of the people, but with- 
out their participation, was conducted by the priests. "They were 
regarded as the representatives of the nation's relation to God. 
Through them the people enjoyed the ideal privilege of drawing 
near to God." The high priest came into prominence as the chief 
of a priestly hierarchy. His office was hereditary. He was conse- 
crated by special rites and sacrifices (Exod. 29. 1-37; Lev. 8, 9). 
He alone might enter the Most Holy Place ; that only once a year. 
(Lev. 16. 2ff.). His costume was splendid and costly (Exod. 28. 
1-39)- The priesthood was restricted to the sons of Aaron. They 
alone were allowed to serve at the altar, to come within the veil 
of the tabernacle, and to bless the people (Num. 18. i, 5, 7; Num. 
6. 23). On assuming their offices they were anointed. All were 
required to be sound In body (Lev. 21. 17-24). There was a great 
extension of the dues paid to the priests (Neh. 10. 35-39). The 
Levites, apart from the family of Aaron, were excluded from the 



70 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

priesthood, although they discharged inferior priestly duties, such as 
ministering to the priests and caring for the place of worship and 
its paraphernalia (Num. i8. 1-7; Num. 3. 5-10). In addition, there 
were temple servants, or slaves, for the menial work. 

2. ISRAEL'S PRIESTS AS HISTORIANS 

Priests, moved by their interest in worship, in the institutions of 
religion, and in ideas and teachings which would tend to make 
these permanent, undertook to write the history of the people and 
nation of Israel. They were dependent principally upon the same 
sources used by the prophetic historians, but they used the com- 
mon material to a different end. It was their purpose to establish 
in the minds of their readers: (i) Jehovah's choice of Israel as his 
peculiar people; (2) Israel's institutions of worship as divinely 
originated; (3) the development of these institutions as divinely 
sanctioned. They hoped also to beget in the hearts of the people a 
lofty reverence for these institutions and a supreme enthusiasm in 
behalf of them. TJie accurate recital of hare facts of history was to 
them a wholly secondary matter. They produced an idealistic 
history. The priestly histories are Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. 

3. ISRAEL'S PRIESTS AS LAWGIVERS 
Laws in Israel were formulated and promulgated by the priests, by 
whom they were given divine sanction. Questions of law likewise 
were decided by priests, and the execution of the law was in their 
hands. The interest and work of the priests were not only con- 
cerned with acts of worship, but with such widely separated 
matters as rules of hygiene, the treatment of birds and animals, 
tale bearing, and the oppression of the poor by the rich. 

Consider some unique and significant features of this situation. 
No such distinction existed as sacred and secular. Every question 
affecting conduct was a religious question. All political issues 
were religious issues. All life was regulated by priestly law. Reli- 
gion permeated all life. 

4. THE LEGAL SYSTEM OF ISRAEL 
(i) Origin o£ Israel's Legal System. Moses was the founder 
of Israel's system of laws. Such was his supremacy as law- 
giver that until very late in the nation's history legal enactments 
were given sanctity by being ascribed to him. This was a fitting 
custom. It may be truly said that all the progress and development 
of the nation during the later times was possible because of the 
foundations laid by Moses. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 71 

(2) Laws of the Early Period. Doubtless many laws which 
have not come down to us were promulgated in the early period 
of Israel's history. The meaning and significance of some 
which we possess are not understood. Others appear to be frag- 
ments broken off of larger pieces of legislation. Some which arose 
out of the primitive conditions of living of a nomadic, or later an 
agricultural people, have lost their significance and value. Exist- 
ing laws of the early period may be thus classified: 

a. The Decalogue^ or Ten Commandments. Different descrip- 
tive names are used in the Scripture, as, the ten words, the tables 
of the covenant, the two tables of testimony. It is found in two 
editions, which differ in minor points (cf. Exod. 20. 1-17 and Deut. 
5. 6-21). Its origin is variously described; some of the statements 
are: spoken by Jehovah (Exod. 20. i) ; written with the finger of 
Jehovah (Exod. 31. 18) ; given through angels (Acts 7. 53). The 
Ten Commandments are a marvelous summing up, in terms of 
moral imperative, of human obligation both to God and fellow man. 
They are mostly negative in form, and from the Christian stand- 
point they are incomplete, but they have served through all inter- 
vening centuries as the foundation upon which moral law has been 
builded and from which it has drawn its sanction of divine author- 
ity. 

b. The Little Book of the Covenant. (Exod. 34. 12-26.) This 
is a code of primitive law concerned entirely with worship. 

c. The Large Book of the Covenant. (Exod. 20. 23 to 33. 19.) 
This is a miscellaneous collection of laws on various subjects, includ- 
ing worship, the rights of slaves, acts of violence, injuries in 
connection with property, and theft. 

(3) Laws of the Later Periods. A considerable part of the Old 
Testament consists of laws. For the most part they have been 
brought together in such form that it is difficult to separate them 
into collections or to tell when they were promulgated. Old Testa- 
ment scholars, after long detailed study, have come to reasonably 
complete unanimity concerning certain codes. We name the two 
most important : 

a. The Deuteronomic Code. (Deut. 12. i to 26. ig.) This col- 
lection of laws takes its nam.e from the book of which it forms a 
large part. Many of its laws are repetitions of laws found in earlier 
collections. Those which are different accord with the spirit and 
teachings of the great prophets Amos and Hosea. For example : 
Jehovah only may be worshiped; all idols and other objects of 
worship must be destroyed; worship may be offered only at one 



^2 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

central sanctuary, the temple ; local shrines must be destroyed ; 
priests must be of the tribe of Levi. It is not known when this 
code first came into existence; the first serious attempt to enforce 
it was made by Josiah,, B. C. 621. (See 2 Kings 22. 3 to 23. 24,; 

b. The Priestly Code, This code includes almost the entire Book 
of Leviticus, much of Exodus (as chapters 12, 25 to 31, 35 to 40, and 
parts of other chapters) and also of Numbers (as chapters i to 10, 
IS, 17 to 19, 26 to 31, ZZ to z^, and parts of other chapters). Much 
stress is laid upon religious forms and ceremonies. Regulations 
strange to the earlier codes are contained in this, for instance, the 
assignment of the firstlings to Aaron (i. e., to the priests) in the 
words, "And their flesh shall be thine" (Num. 18. 17, 18). Whereas 
in Deuteronomy they were eaten by the owner and his household at 
the central sanctuary. (See Deut. 15. 19, 20.) The provisions con- 
cerning tithes differ widely from those of the Deuteronomic code. 
(Cf. Num. 18. 26, Neh. 10. 38 with Deut. 14. 22-29; 26. 12-15.) The 
priestly code was promulgated after the return from the exile, when 
national independence had been lost; it reflects the thought of 
Israel's existence as a church living only for the service of God. 

S. THE SERVICE OF ISRAEL'S PRIESTS TO RELIGION 

Stade recognizes the service of the priesthood to religion in these 
words : "No one in old Israel was more capable of protecting, the 
unfortunate from oppression, punishing the injustice of the mighty, 
and thus of strengthening the moral conscience, softening public 
manners, and educating society than the priests. Their importance 
for the development of religion, justice, and public morality cannot 
be too highly estimated." To the priesthood is due the credit of 
having given to the sacred ordinances of Israel more and more the 
form of fixed laws. But the priests tended also to change religious 
customs into laws, and to make religion consist too much of out- 
ward ceremonies. They were not always on the side of progress. 
They did not always oppose the wickedness of kings (2 Kings 16. 
16; Zeph. 3. 4). They sometimes abused their position as judges 
for purposes of oppression ; made the sins of the people sources of 
income ; dishonored the right of asylum by acts of violence ; became 
selfish, corrupt, and fond of luxury. For these sins they were 
rebuked and condemned by the prophets. In spite of the limita- 
tions of the priesthood and the shortcomings of individual priests, 
Christianity owes much to them. The priests were the creators of 
the church. The priestly system developed the idea of sin. The 



OF TEACHER TRAINING ^z 

ordinances of the Christian church grew out of the earlier priestly 
ordinances. The devout faith in God, the holy life, and the religious 
spirit which formed the basis of Christianity were preserved and 
transmitted through a varied history and against great odds by 
Israel's priestly system. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Compare the position and work of the priest In early 
times in Israel (Judges, chapters 17, 18; i Sam. 4. 4; 7. i; 
I Kings I. 34; I Sam. 21. 1-9; Hos. 4. 6; Mic. 3. 11) and 
in postexilic times (Lev. 10. 8-1 1; 16. 32; 6. 20-22; Hag. 
2. 11-13; Mai. 2. 4-7; Lev. 16. 32; Num. 4. 19, 27f., 33; 3. 
1-4; 4. 34-49; 35. 25-34). 

2. From a study of the following references make a list 
of some specific and some general duties of the priest in the 
Periods of the Conquest, the Judges, and the United King- 
dom: I Sam. 7. i; I Kings i. 34; i Sam. 4. 18; Deut. 33. 
10 ; 10. 8 ; 31. 9f . ; Judg. 18. 5 ; i Sam. 38. 6. 

3. Ponder these questions : Were all the laws of ancient 
Israel of equal significance and value? Were some of 
merely temporary significance? Are there not many of 
these laws without meaning for us of to-day? (Consider, 
for example, laws concerning food: Exod. 23. 19b; 22. 31; 
Deut. J2. 15-16; 14. 3-21; Lev. 11. 29-30; 7. 22-27; 3- 
14-17.) 

4. Read 2 Kings 22. 8 to 23. 24. Make a list of the re- 
ligious reforms instituted by Josiah. (Cf. Deuteronomy, 
chapters 12, 13.) 

5. As showing the idealistic character of the priestly his- 
tory, compare the account of Solomon's accession as given 
in I Chron. 28. i ; 29. 20-25, with the prophetic account in 
I Kings I. 32-40. 

6. Consider why the prophets sometimes opposed sacri- 
fice and other religious rites fostered by the priests. Refer- 
ences: Isa. I. iiff. ; Amos 5. 21-25; Hos. 6. 4-6; Mic. 
6. 6. 

7. Enumerate the charges brought against the priests by 
the prophets in these statements: Hos. 4. 8; 5. i; 6. 9; 
Mic. 3. 11; Isa. 28. 7; Zeph. 3. 4; Jer. i. 18; 2. 26; 4. 9; 
6. 13; Ezek. 22. 25. Have there been other times when 
priests have hindered the cause of religion by these same 
sins? 



74 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

(Review the memory assignment of Chapter II) 

1. Priestly Literature: a. Priestly History; b. Books of 
the Law. 

2. Books of Priestly History: i and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, 
Nehemiah. 

3. Books of the Law : Leviticus, and in part Exodus, 
Numbers, Deuteronomy, Ezekiel. 

4. Laws of the Early Period : a. The Decalogue ; b. The 
Little Book of the Covenant; c. The Large Book of the 
Covenant. 

5. Two great Law Codes of Later Periods: a. The Deu- 
teronomic Code; b. The Priestly Code, or Levitical Law. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Give principal facts concerning the priest in the period of eariy history. 

What were the duties of the priest in this period? 

What changes are to be noted during succeeding periods? 

Describe the position of the priest in the postexiUc period. 

What moved the priests to write the history of Israel? 

What was the relation of the priests to the law? 

What was the scope of Israel's legal system? 

What may be said of its origin? 

Give important particulars concerning early laws. 

What can you say of the Decalogue? Of other early codes? 

State the chief characteristics of the Deuteronomic code. 

When was it first zealously promulgated? 

Give principal characteristics of the priestly code. 

What can you say of the service of the priesthood to religion? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Development of the Priesthood. 

H.D. p. 75111. 

2. The Priestly History. 

D.C. 2483. H.D. p. 131^ 2. 

3. The Origin and Growth of the Law. 

D.C. xxvi(2). H.D. p. 5321, 2. 

4. The Ten Commandments. 

D.C. 66. H.D. p. 905f. 

5. Legal Administration in Early Times. 

H.D. p. 5322. 

6. The Deuteronomic Code. 

D.C. 128 first paragraph, 122'. H.D. p. 533". 

7. The Priestly Code. 

D.C. 863. H.D. p. 534^ 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 



CHAPTER XI 

FORMS AND INSTITUTIONS OF WORSHIP 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

1. THE ORIGIN OF ISRAEL'S INSTITUTIONS 

In the religion of all ancient nations, creed, or belief, had rela- 
tively small part. Peoples showed themselves religious by perform- 
ing religious acts. Numerous institutions which existed among the 
Hebrews, record of which has come down to us, testify to their 
religious character from earliest times. 

Practically all of these institutions of worship were related to the 
Sacred Place, Sacred Seasons, and Sacrifice. The beginnings of 
these sacred institutions antedate all historical record. They were 
already in existence long before the time of Abraham. Sacrifice, 
for example, may be said to have been universal among the peoples 
of antiquity. Circumcision is known to have been practiced by the 
nomadic Arabs and by the Egyptians. The study of the religions of 
primitive races has shown that none of Israel's religious institutions 
were possessed by her alone. 

We have seen that Israel's early wanderings and her peculiar 
geographical situation brought her in turn into contact with all the 
great nations of the ancient East. Some institutions were probably 
taken over bodily from other nations. The religious genius of 
Israel was not so much shown in originating forms and institutions 
of worship as in refining and purifying those possessed by others. 
Crude institutions, low and crass forms of worship, degraded rites, 
were transformed; new meanings were imparted to them, and what 
before had been a hindrance to religion was made to serve it well. 

It is not to be understood that this transformation was immediate. 
The Old Testament bears record to the existence through long 
periods of time of rites and customs which, though regarded as 
religious or semireligious by masses of the people, were a serious 
menace to true religion. Every prophet down to Ezekiel's time had 
occasion to denounce sorcery. Wizards who consulted the dead 
were not uncommon. Amulets and charms were in all too frequent 
use. The use of the lot as a means of determining important ques- 
tions persisted very late. 

We can best understand and appreciate the great religious insti- 



76 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

tutions of Israel by considering them comparatively in the different 
historical periods with which we have become familiar. 

2. INSTITUTIONS OF WORSHIP IN THE PERIOD OF EARLY HISTORY 

(i) The Place of Worship. In early religious thought certain 
natural places were regarded as having special sanctity as manifest- 
ing the presence and power of the Deity. In the Old Testament 
record there are evidences that the oasis, the palm tree, the heap 
of stones, and high hills and mountain tops were considered espe- 
cially suitable as places of worship. (Cf. Gen. 31. 44-54. i Kings 
14. 23.) Until long after the entrance into Canaan, Mount Sinai 
was regarded as being in a special sense the place of abode of 
Jehovah. 

There were also artificial places of worship. Altars were built 
of earth, or of plain unhewn stone without steps. (Gen. 12. 7; 
Exod. 20. 24-26.) The Ark of the Covenant was a chest made of 
wood, in which were contained the stone tables of the law. It was 
regarded with reverence ; by some with superstitious awe. In a 
peculiar sense it was believed to be the abode of Deity. Car- 
ried at the head of the marching host, it led the way and was held 
to protect and defend the Israelites from their enemies. The ark 
was sheltered by the Tent of Meeting, pitched without the camp. 
To it the people repaired to seek the Lord, and there Moses met 
Jehovah (Exod. 33. 7-11). 

(2) Sacrifice. Sacrifice was the larger part of early worship. 
It was simple in form. An animal was killed ; its blood poured 
out upon the altar as an offering to the Deity, and the flesh eaten 
by the worshipers. This sacrificial meal was itself an act of com- 
munion ; by means of it the bond of union between the worshiper 
and his god was cemented. There were no fixed seasons for sacri- 
fice ; it might be offered at any time. 

Burnt Offerings were sometimes presented. It was thought that 
the odor of the burning offering was pleasing to the Deity and pro- 
pitiated his anger. (Cf. Gen. 8. 20-21.) In time, offerings came to 
be made as gifts ; then other things than food were presented. 

The act of sacrifice was in itself a prayer, and it probably almost 
invariably preceded special petitions (Gen. 12. 8; 26. 25). The 
blessing, the curse, the oath, and the vow may be regarded as forms 
of prayer (Gen. 9. 25; 27. 12; 21. 31; 14. 18-24). 

(3) Sacred Seasons. There is slight evidence as to sacred 
seasons in the period of Hebrew beginnings. The Sabbath may 
possibly have been observed. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 77 

3. INSTITUTIONS OF WORSHIP IN THE SECOND PERIOD,— THE EPOCHS 
OF THE CONQUEST, THE JUDGES, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM 

(i) The Place o£ Worship. Once settled in Canaan, the Israel- 
ites were brought into close contact with Canaanitish forms of 
worship. The sacred places of the Canaanites were adopted as 
places of worship. Not only did the high places, the pillars, and 
the Asherim become places of worship ; the licentious and cor- 
rupting rites previously carried on were all too frequently continued 
(cf. Judges 6. 25-32; 3. 7; 9. 6; 2 Kings 18. 4; 17. 9-12). The ark 
was carried to battle in times of conflict. The principal sanctuary 
was at Shiloh. There the ark was regularly kept (Josh. 18. i ; i 
Sam. 3. 3). There also lived Samuel and the priest Eli. The tent 
would seem to have been replaced by a more permanent structure 
(i Sam. I. 9; 3. 3; but cf. 2 Sam. 7. 6). When, under David, Jerusa- 
lem became the capital of the nation, the ark was transferred there. 
Plans were made by David for a temple, and this was built by 
Solomon. 

The Temple of Solomon, or the first temple, was an imposing 
structure of limestone, built on Mount Zion, or Moriah, on the east 
of Jerusalem. Within, the principal objects were the altar of show- 
bread, the ark, and two huge cherubim. In the temple court were 
the altar of burnt offering, the brazen sea, and the lavers. Wor- 
ship at the temple was not intended to displace worship at other 
sanctuaries. Worship at the high places continued. There were 
also prominent sanctuaries at Beersheba, Dan, Bethel, and Gilgal. 
At the temple the worship was purer in form ; the ceremonial 
was, perhaps, more elaborately organized; in time, it came to be 
carried on with luxurious magnificence. 

(2) Sacrifice. Sacrificial offerings were more extensive than 
previously. Burnt offerings had come to be regarded as of greater 
importance. The first fruits were sacred to Jehovah. More atten- 
tion was given to fixed times. (Cf. Judges 6. 25.26; i Sam. i. 3-5.) 
The occasions of sacrifice took on a more joyous aspect; feasting 
and music had a prominent place (Judges 21. 19-21). With the 
completion of the temple, sacrifice was offered on a grander scale 
than had been ever known before (i Kings 8. 62-65). Prayer was 
more frequent and was of a more intimate nature. 

(3) Sacred Seasons. In addition to the Sabbath, there were 
observed as sacred these annual feasts : 

a. The Passover. This took place in the month Abib (March- 
April) and was observed in celebration of the departure from 
Egypt (Exod. 12. 21-28). 



78 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

b. The Feast of Unleavened Bread. This marked the beginning 
of barley harvest. As it followed immediately after the Passover, 
the two became blended into one festival (Exod. 23. 15; Deut. 16. 
1-8). 

c. The Feast of Harvest. Also termed the Feast of Firstfruits 
or Weeks; called in Greek, Pentecost (Exod. 34. 22). This marked 
the gathering of the firstfruits. It was a one-day festival (Exod. 
23. 16). 

d. The Feast of Ingathering. This was the autumn festival, 
marking the end of the harvest of grapes and fruits. It lasted seven 
days. The name Feast of Tabernacles was also sometimes applied 
to it (Exod. 22). 16; Deut. 16. 13). 

4. INSTITUTIONS OF WORSHIP IN THE THIRD PERIOD,— THE 
DIVIDED KINGDOM 

(i) The Place of Worship. To offset the popularity of worship 
at the temple, Jeroboam exalted the sanctuaries in Bethel and in 
Dan. Images were set up in the form of calves (i Kings 12. 26-33). 
The high places and the groves occupied a more prominent place 
than before, especially in the worship of the people of the northern 
kingdom. 

In Judah great changes w^ere wrought by the short-lived reforma- 
tion of Josiah. The old altars, the high places, the pillars, and the 
groves, and all idols, were destroyed. The temple was constituted 
the one central sanctuary. All worship elsewhere was prohibited. 
What a revolutionary change ! Says Cornill : "It was tantamount to 
a suppression of religion in the whole country outside of Jerusalem." 
In 586 the temple, sharing in the general destruction which over- 
whelmed Jerusalem, was burned to the ground. 

(2) Sacrifice. In the northern kingdom, as a part of the gen- 
eral decadence of religion, sacrifices were offered to heathen divini- 
ties. It is probable that even human sacrifice was permitted. (Cf. 
2 Kings 21. 6; 23. 10.) 

In Judah, the reformation of Josiah effected great changes. In 
accord with the Deuteronomic law, sacrifice was to be offered only 
at the one central sanctuary. The religious significance of sacri- 
fice was' heightened. Gradually it came to be offered principally 
at the time of the three great festivals of the year. Sin offer- 
ings and atonement offerings took on increased meaning and im- 
portance. 

(3) Sacred Seasons. As time went on the feasts became more 
distinctly religious in significance. They were less closely related 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 79 

to agriculture and associated to a greater extent with the great 
events of the nation's history. The Feast of Harvest became the 
Feast of Weeks in celebration of the giving of the law on Sinai. 
The Feast of Tabernacles became a memorial of the desert wander- 
ings. 

With the promulgation of the Deuteronomic Law, the annual 
feasts were required to be kept at the central sanctuary in Jerusalem 
(Deut. i6. 1-17). No longer could they be observed as local festi- 
vals ; they became religious pilgrimages. 

5. INSTITUTIONS OF WORSHIP IN THE FOURTH PERIOD,— THE EXILE 
AND THE EPOCHS OF FOREIGN RULE 

(i) The Place of Worship. With the temple no longer In exist- 
ence, and with all the old familiar places of worship left behind, 
there was forced upon the Israelites a more spiritual conception of 
God. Through sore travail of soul there began to dawn upon them 
the conception that Jehovah was not the God of one land alone, but 
that he could hear the cry of the longing, contrite heart wherever 
uttered. By means of the exile the people were for the first time 
completely divorced from the old Canaanitish places and forms of 
worship. From the exile on, idolatry gradually declined until -finally 
it ceased entirely. 

After the return some years elapsed before the completion of the 
temple, but this was finally accomplished in 516. From then on, the 
entire religious system came more and more to center in the temple. 
This building is known as Zerubbabel's Temple. We have almost 
no certain information about it. It was probably built on the site 
of the former temple. It stood intact until 168, when it was par- 
tially destroyed and desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes. In 37 it 
again suffered partial demolition at the hands of Herod the Great. 
In 20 this same Herod set about the task of rebuilding it. Herod's 
Temple, not finally completed until A. D. 64, was a grand struc- 
ture of marble, much of it overlaid with gold, and was far greater 
and more gorgeous than any which had preceded it. 

Meantime there had come into existence a new institution, the 
synagogue. This had a distinctly different kind of religious service, 
one which combined worship with the reading, the interpretation, 
and the study of the law. As time went on every prosperous 
Jewish community came to have its synagogue. 

(2) Sacrifice. During the exile, sacrifice could not be offered, 
but its importance was heightened rather than decreased in the 
thought of the people by this circumstance. The devout were 



8o FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

driven to prayer as a means of communion with God, and fre- 
quent fasts were observed. 

Immediately upon the return, sacrifice was resumed (Ezra 3. 2-3). 
The number of offerings was multiplied. The one great central 
purpose became that of atonement, propitiation for sin. A most 
complex system of regulation was developed. Every minutest 
detail was determined by law. No particular, even the slightest, 
was overlooked. To the entire ceremonial and all its parts, the 
highest importance was attached. The inspiring cause, underlying 
all, was the sense of sin; the purpose, purification of heart and life 
in order to forgiveness and communion with one supreme and holy 
God. 

The materials of sacrifice were both animal and non-animal. Of 
the latter, meal (or flour), salt, wine, oil, and frankincense were 
used. Animals were oxen, sheep, goats, and doves or pigeons. 
Animal sacrifices may be classified in simplest terms as follows : 

a. Burnt Offerings. A daily sacrifice. The blood was dashed 
on the altar and all the flesh was burned (Lev. chap, i ; Exod. 29. 
I5~i8). 

b. Peace Offering. There were several varieties of peace offer- 
ing. Parts of the animal were burned, part of the flesh was given 
to the priests, and the remainder was eaten by the offerer and his 
friends (Lev. 19. 5-6). 

c. Sin Offering. As the name implies, this was an offering for 
specific sins. If offered for an individual other than the high priest, 
part of the blood was placed on the horns of the altar of burnt 
offering, part poured at the base, the fat burned, and the flesh given 
to the priests (Lev. 4. 22-31; 6. 26, 29). If offered for the high 
priest or for the whole congregation, the practice was different. 

c. Guilt Offering, or Trespass Offering. A sacrifice which 
accompanied restitution for wrong. Part of the blood was sprinkled 
on the altar and part poured out at the base ; parts of the animal 
were burned; the flesh was given to the priests (Lev. 7. 1-7). 

Prayer was spiritual, intense, and frequent on the part of the 
faithful. Music and singing had come to occupy a prominent place 
in services of worship. 

(3) Sacred Seasons. Greater importance than before was at- 
tached to sacred times and seasons. The Sabbath was sanctified as 
a holy day and scrupulously observed. Labor on the Sabbath was 
punishable by death (Exod. 31. 12-17). The Sabbatical Year was 
recognized and the further provision made that the land was to lie 
fallow. In addition, a Year of Jubilee was ordained, to be cele- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 8i 

brated every fifty years (Lev. 25. 8-55). The feasts provided for 
were: 

a. The New Moon. This marked the beginning of each month 
(Num. 28. 11-15). 

b. The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Lev. 2^. 

5-14.) 

c. The Feast of Weeks^ or Pentecost. (Lev. 23. 15-22.) 

d. The Feast of Tabernacles. (Lev. 23. 33-43.) 

e. The Feast of Trumpets. (Lev. 23. 23-25; Num. 29. 1-7.) 

f. The Day of Atonement." This was a day of universal fast. 
It was the one day in the year when the high priest entered into 
the Holy of Holies (Lev. 23. 26-32), 

The principal difference in the celebration of the feasts was in 
the number of sacrifices which accompanied them. 

IL CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Read the following passages and seek to discover ex- 
actly what it is that is described or denounced : Exod. 22. 
18; I Sam. 28. 3-25; 2 Kings 21. 6; 2 Kings 23. 24. Deut. 
18. lo-ii ; Isa. 8. 19. What inferences are to be made as to 
the extent of the use of these by the people? Do some of 
these persist in some quarters even to this day? 

2. From a study of the references named construct a 
statement concerning the Ark of the Covenant : Num. 10. 
33fif.; 14. 44; Josh. 9. 6; 10. 43; 8. 33; 18. i ; Judg. 2. iff.; 
I Sam. 3. 3; 4. 1—7. i; 2 Sam. chap. 6; 11. 11; 15. 24ff . ; 
I Kings 8. iff. What is to be inferred concerning the re- 
ligious conceptions of the time from the statements of I 
Kings 8. iff? 

3. From the statements of the prophetic history, i Kings 
chapters 5-7, prepare a description of Solomon's temple and 
its furnishings. 

4. Compare the account of the reformation of Joslah, 
given In Kings, with the religious regulations of Deuter- 
onomy: 2 Kings 23. 7-24 with Deut. 6. 4; 11. 

5. Read the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus and write a 
brief statement of the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Animal sacrifices of the Priestly Code : a. Burnt offer- 
ing; b. Peace offering; c. Sin offering; d. Guilt offering. 

2. Feasts of the Priestly Code : a. The New Moon ; b. 



82 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

The Passover and Unleavened Bread; c. The Feast of 
Weeks; d. The Feast of Tabernacles; e. The Feast of 
Trumpets; f. The Day of Atonement. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What place did religious acts have in early religion? 

What three general terms may be used to designate Israel's sacred institutions? 

To what extent were Israel's sacred institutions original? 

How was the religious genius of the Israelites chiefly manifested? 

What is to be said of evil rites and customs? 

Name the places of wo-ship of the early period. 

What place did sacrifice have in early worship? 

How did entrance into Canaan affect the place of worship? 

Give principal facts concerning the temple of Solomon. 

Characterize sacrifice in the second period. 

Name and locate the four annual feasts of the second period. 

Tell of places of worship in the northern kingdom. 

How did the reformation of Josiah affect the place of worship? 

What is to be said of sacrifice in the third period? of sacred seasons? 

How did the exile affect the people's thought of God? 

Tell what you can of the second temple; of the third temple. 

What was the synagogue? 

Make as full a statement as you can on sacrifice in the fourth period. 

Name the feasts of the fourth period. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. Early Sacrifice. 

D.C. p. 87. H.D. p. 8ii3. 

2. The Passover. 

H.D. p. 683. 

3. The Sin Offering and Guilt Offering. 

D.C. p. 89. H.D. p. Sist^^ l^ 1^ 

4. Nonanimal Sacrifices. 

D.C. p. 88. H.D. p. 810^, 8ii2, 815". 

5. Day of Atonement. 

D.C. p. 94. H.D. p. 74. 

6. Year of Jubilee. 

D.C. p. 99. H.D. p. 808. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 83 



CHAPTER XII 

PROPHETS AND PROPHECY OF ISRAEL 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. PROPHECY IN THE DIFFERENT PERIODS OF ISRAEL'S HISTORY 

(i) Prophecy in the Period of Early History. The beginnings 
of prophecy are very difficuh to trace. In this period we find 
what may be described as preprophetism, a preparation for real 
prophecy. A significant statement is made in i Sam. 9. g: "He that 
is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer." The seer 
undoubtedly existed very early; he was a man believed to be 
endowed with unusual powers ; he was resorted to for counsel in 
times of difficulty or uncertainty and was consulted when it was 
desired to ascertain the divine will. His functions were thus to 
some extent similar to those of the priest, though he appears to have 
had nothing to do with rites of worship. 

(2) Prophecy in the Epochs of the Conquest, the Judges, and 
the United Monarchy. By this time prophecy had become more 
clearly determined. Moses was commissioned to be Jehovah's 
spokesman. Samuel was a connecting link between the two orders, 
uniting in himself both seer and prophet. Saul went to Samuel, 
the seer, on a very ordinary, everyday matter and offered him a 
trifling present for the purpose of getting information. But Samuel, 
as the prophet, Jehovah's representative, anointed Saul king over 
Israel. 

Samuel organized companies of young men, "sons of the proph- 
ets," into schools. Earlier, they had been roving bands, going 
wherever changing circumstances dictated, cultivating ecstasy and 
trance as means of obtaining revelation. Music was a method em- 
ployed to bring on the ecstatic state (i Sam. 10. 5, 9-12). Samuel's 
purpose was that of cultivating the spirit of prophecy, regulating 
its emotional excesses, and developing a national spirit. Later, in 
times of national crisis or battle, the "sons of the prophets" were 
close at hand. 

Throughout this period the prophets came to have a constantly 
larger place in public affairs and were intimately associated with 
the development of the nationalistic spirit. It was an epoch of 
organization, of the laying of foundations, and it meant everything 



84 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

to the future of the nation that there was a class of men who real- 
ized that Jehovah was a righteous God and that he demanded moral 
righteousness of his people. There are only a few prophetic figures 
that stand out prominently. In the narratives we read of Deborah 
(a prophetess), Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. 

(3) Prophecy in the Period of the Divided Kingdom. In con- 
nection with Elisha, we again have mention of the "sons of the 
prophets." They have adopted a more settled mode of living and 
seem to be an organized company who act as assistants and mes- 
sengers to the prophetic leaders. 

In this period prophetism became the most conspicuous factor in 
the life and thought of the Israelitish people. It had come to be a 
very different institution from what it was originally. The prophet 
at this time stood forth as a new and original religious figure. No 
other nation had anything like him. Moved by pure and unselfish 
motives, dominated by an intense patriotism and a mighty zeal for 
Jehovah, cherishing lofty ethical ideals and insisting that they be 
made regnant in individual, social, and national life, the Hebrew 
prophet in himself represented religion in the highest estate to 
which it had ever attained. Written prophecy now came into 
existence. 

Prophetism was given a recognition in this period which it had 
not had before. The prophets were recognized as the true repre- 
sentatives of Jehovah, his purposes and his will. Rulers resorted to 
them for counsel and the people received their message as from the 
Most High. In this there is seen a tremendous advance in reli- 
gion. ^'The substitution of the human spirit for the hazard of a 
die in the interpretation of Jehovah's counsels was an advance of 
no slight magnitude. Revelation now had in the human mind and 
character its fitting channel ; and there was at once rendered pos- 
sible a progress in the comprehension of, and insight into, the nature 
of God and his relations with his people, which becomes increas- 
ingly apparent in the following periods." 

(4) Prophecy in the Period of the Exile and the Epochs of 
Foreign Rule. At first glance the glory of the prophetic movement 
seems now to have faded. The greatest prophetic characters are 
in the past. Prophecy has largely lost its triumphant note. The 
hopes of the leaders remain unfulfilled. The national power has 
sadly waned. Yet this is not a complete view. There may be seen 
in this period much fruit of prophetic teaching. The priest has 
come into the place of central prominence, but there has entered 
into his work something of the prophetic spirit, and in it is en- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 85 

shrined the heart of the prophetic message. The number and char- 
acter of the sacrificial offerings testify that Jehovah has come to be 
known as a righteous and holy God ; that the people realize that 
all of evil that has come upon them has been because of their per- 
sonal and national sins ; and that confession, atonement, and resti- 
tution for sin must be made. 

There are great prophets during this period, but again they are a 
new type. Jeremiah and Ezekiel are themselves priests. Haggai 
and Zechariah find a chief theme in the maintenance of the priests 
and the priestly ritual of the temple. 

Toward the end of the period, Hebrew prophecy comes to its 
close in the apocalyptic writings of Joel and others. 

2. THE PROPHETIC OFFICE AND METHOD 

The term prophet signifies spokesman, one who speaks by the 
commission of another or on his behalf. Thus, Aaron was termed 
the prophet, that is, spokesman of Moses (Exod. 7. i). But par- 
ticularly it meant the human spokesman of Jehovah. The prophets 
regarded themselves as the mouthpieces of Jehovah and declared 
their words to be the utterances of Jehovah. (Cf. Isa. 6. 8-9. 
Jer. I. 9-10.) Primarily, therefore, the prophet was God's mes- 
senger. 

The prophet's message was addressed both to individuals and to 
nations. Not until Jeremiah did the individualistic message become 
dominant. As nationalists they were constructive statesmen, but 
their work was both to build up and to destroy. In evil times 
their predominant note became one of censure and rebuke. They 
lifted up their voices and spared not ; they employed scorn and rid- 
icule, invective and denunciation ; they denounced and threatened. 
But in times of defeat and despair their fund of encouragement, 
hope, and faith was unfailing. 

The prophets were rich in literary resources. In proclaiming the 
truth they employed all the devices of oratory; they used object- 
teaching and symbolism ; they knew how to use effectively prac- 
tically every literary form and figure known to-day; in their writ- 
ings may be found simile and metaphor, story and parable, sermon 
and oratorical address, song and rhapsody. 

Thus we see that the prophet may not be adequately described by 
any one name. He was the preacher of his day speaking to his own 
times; he was a historian, writing the history of the past in the 
light of his faith and knowledge of God ; he was a statesman seek- 
ing to influence and determine national ideals and policies. He 



86 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

was also a discerner of things to come. The prophets believed them- 
selves able to predict future events; that they possessed the power 
of prediction to a remarkable degree, their own writings and the 
history of their own and succeeding times is sufficient evidence. In 
the past, both they and their work have been seen out of perspective 
because of a tendency to lay undue emphasis upon the predictive 
element. Professor Adeney well says : 'Tt was by no means their 
chief aim to lift the veil from the countenance of the dim future. 
They did predict, it is true, both judgment and redemption; but 
their predictions for the most part related to the immediate future, 
and the larger proportion of their teaching was concerned with the 
present troubles, needs, sins, duties, and hopes of the people to 
whom they preached." 

The prophets were able to delineate events of the future definitely 
and concretely. Of this there is abundant evidence in their writings. 
They were not, however, soothsayers. That is, they did not baldly 
predict unrelated future events. They knew God and understood 
his ways, and in the light of their understanding of the eternal 
purpose they were able from a study of present causes to determine 
future consequences. 

3. THE PROPHET'S SERVICE TO RELIGION 

"It cannot be too often repeated," says Ottley, "that prophecy is 
the dominant and distinctive element in Israel's religion." The 
highest and truest written expression of religion in Israel was in 
the language of the prophets. They gave voice to truths which are 
eternal, spiritual principles as valid to-day as when first spoken. By 
virtue of perceiving these truths and giving utterance to them, the 
prophets became the teachers and benefactors not of their own times 
and of their own people only, but of all times and of the human 
race. The entire prophetic movement has been justly declared to be 
"in some respects the most eventful in the history of human thought, 
exhibiting more definitely than any other, perhaps, the direct 
influence of the Holy Spirit." ^ 

It must be realized that prophecy was a living institution. The 
prophets were men of their times. The career of each was insepa- 
rably bound up with the history of a particular period. Though 
there was a common platform of spiritual thought and moral and 
ethical ideals upon which all stood, yet each prophet had his own 
message, which must be studied and interpreted in the light of the 



^Harper, The Prophetic Element, p. 21. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 87 

historical movements in connection with which it was uttered. Any 
thorough study of the prophets must, for this reason, include an 
acquaintance with the exact historical situation, the life history, and 
the utterances of each prophet, separately. 

So far as it is possible to condense the supreme messages of the 
prophets into a single statement, it may be expressed in some such 
form as this : Jehovah is the universal God, perfect in power, who 
rules over all nations and all men ; he is in all life, speaks to men 
who listen for his voice, and acts through men whom he chooses for 
his agents; this Almighty One is also a God of justice and mercy, 
compassionate and forgiving; his omnipotent purpose shall not be 
defeated ; under the leadership of the Messiah his true people shall 
be gathered into a spiritual commonwealth, every member of which 
shall be the recipient of his saving grace and unfailing love, and 
which shall inherit that glory of which Israel had proved herself 
unworthy. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Consider the words of Exod. 4. 10-16 as a statement 
of the office of the prophet. What was Moses to do ? 

2. Read as an example of prophetic work in the time of 
the united kingdom, 2 Sam. 12. 1-15. Who was the prophet? 
What was the character of his message? What degree of 
courage would the delivery of such a message require? 
What impulses and motives would be required to move a 
man to exercise such a ministry? 

3. Read all the references dealing with the early prophet 
Nathan (2 Sam. 7. 1-17; i Chron. 17. 1-15; 2 Sam. 12. 
1-15; 12. 25; I Kings I ; 4. 5; i Chron. 29. 29; 2 Chron. 9. 
29) . Form a definite idea of his office and work, answering in 
your thought such questions as the following: What was 
his relation to affairs of state? Was he interested in poli- 
tics? Was he subservient to royalty? Was he a guardian 
of popular interests and rights? 

4. Read the Book of Amos and try to answer these ques- 
tions : What does the writer mean by '"transgressions," 
''iniquities," and "sins"? Make a list of the specific trans- 
gressions which he names. Is he speaking about sin in the 
abstract, or in the concrete? Are these transgressions 
mostly individual sins, or are they social wrongs? Were 
these evils confined to Israel, or do they exist to-day? 

5. Read Isaiah's parable of the vineyard, 5. 1-7, and 



88 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Ezekiel's parable of the vine, 17. 5-10, and compare these 
with some of the parables of Jesus. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Prophets of the Epochs of the Conquest, the Judges, and 
the United Kingdom : Samuel, Deborah, Nathan, Gad. 

2. Prophets of the Period of the Divided Kingdom : 
Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah (the four last 
named sometimes called the eighth-century prophets), 
Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk (these four some- 
times called the seventh-century prophets). 

3. Prophets of the Exile and Epochs of Foreign Rule : 
Isaiah (the authors of chapters 40-66, sometimes spoken of 
as the second Isaiah), Ezekiel, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, 
Joel, Jonah, Daniel. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What was preprophetism? 

What was the significance of Samuel as related to prophetic development? 
Who were the "sons of the prophets"? 

What part did the prophets have in the organization of the national life of Israel? 
When did prophetism become a chief factor in the national life? 
Describe prophetism in the period of the divided kingdom. 
How did prophetic advance aid the religion of the people? 
Characterize prophecy in the time of the exile. 

In what way did Jeremiah and Ezek-'el differ from earlier prophets? 
What was the final phase of Israelitish prophecy? 
What did the term prophet primarily mean? 

Was the prophetic message addressed chiefly to the people as a nation or as indi- 
viduals? 

What can you say of the literary resources of the prophets? 
Tell of the different aspects of the prophet's work. 
State some of the great teachings of the prophets. 
Describe the prophet's service to religion. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Beginnings of Prophecy. 

H.D.p. 757f. 

2. The Early History of Prophecy. 

H.D.p. 758(2). D.C. p. xli. 

3. The Office and Work of the Prophet 

H.D.p. 76i(3). D.C. p. xliff. 

4. The Significance of Amos and Hosea. 

H.D. p. 2584, 6. D.C. pp. xxi, 562f., S44f. 

5. The Interpretation of Prophecy. 

D.C. p. xliv. 

6. Messianic Prophecy. 

H.D. p. 7624. D.C. p. xlv. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 89 



CHAPTER XIII 

POETRY AND WISDOM OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. HEBREW POETRY 

(i) Poetry among the Hebrews. It is* probable that literature 
among the Hebrews, as among many other peoples, began with 
poetry. The most ancient existing literature of the Hebrews con- 
sists of fragments of songs quoted in some of the early books of 
the Old Testament, A conspicuous example is the Song by the 
Sea, Exod. 15. 1-18. A lesser fragment is the Song of the Well, 
Num. 21. 17-18. We also have incidental references to certain 
lost books which were, in all probability, collections of poetry. The 
Book of the Wars of Jehovah, we gather from its name, was a 
collection of songs celebrating victories gained by Israel over her 
enemies in ancient times. (Cf. Num. 21. 14.) Likewise the Book of 
Jasher is referred to (2 Sam. i. 18). 

Five books of the Old Testament are almost wholly poetry. 
These are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Lamenta- 
tions. Ecclesiastes has a considerable element of poetry. In the 
books of prophecy also there are frequent examples of poetry, some 
of which are among the choicest poetical compositions in the world's 
literature. 

(2) Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry. Poetry is now com- 
monly distinguished from prose by the possession of rhythm, rhyme, 
and metrical arrangement of words. Hebrew poetry is peculiar in 
that neither rhyme nor exact meter was considered essential. 
Importance was attached to rhythm. The most characteristic 
feature was parallelism, a correspondence of parts both in form 
and sense. For centuries this feature of Hebrew poetr}^ was for- 
gotten and unknown. Its significance was recovered by Bishop 
Robert Lowth. He distinguished three varieties of parallelism 
of clauses, to which a fourth variety has since been added. They 
are: 

a. Synonymous Parallelism. This is the most frequent. In it 
the second line repeats in slightly different form the thought of the 



90 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

first. The thought of the second line is not always identical, but 
it is always similar. An example is Psa. 8. 4: 

"What is man that thou art mindful of him? 
And the son of man, that thou visitest him?" 

b. Antithetic Parallelism. In this form the thought of the 
first line is followed by a contrasted thought in the second which 
has the effect of emphasizing or confirming the first. An example 
is Psa. I. 6: 

"For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous : 
But the way of the ungodly shall perish." 

c. Synthetic or Constructive Parallelism. In this form the 
parallelism is merely of form, not of thought. The second line 
carries forward the thought of the first, supplementing or complet- 
ing it. The relation may be one of cause and consequence, means 
and end, or the second line may furnish a comparison or motive. 
Examples are : 

Prov. 22. 8: "He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity; 

And by the rod of his anger shall he be consumed." 

Prov. 19. I : "Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity 

Than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool." 

d. Climactic Parallelism. This form is less frequently found 
than any of the others. The first line is incomplete ; the second line 
repeats words from the first and completes the meaning. For ex- 
ample : 

Psa. 94. 3 : "Lord, how long shall the wicked, 

How long shall the wicked triumph?" 

(3) The Prevailing Form of Poetic Composition. The study 
of literature has doubtless made the student familiar with the three 
principal forms of poetic composition : Epic Poetry, the Poetic 
Drama, and Lyric Poetry. Of these, Epic Poetry is unknown in 
the Hebrew literature. The drama is not found in highly developed 
form. The Song of Songs partakes of the nature of a drama. The 
Book of Job may also be said to be a dramatic poem. The great 
part of Hebrew poetry belongs, therefore, to the third class named. 

a. Lyric Poetry. This form of poetry concerns itself with a 
delineation of the writer's own thoughts and feelings, as contrasted 
to external circumstances and events. It is introspective, subject- 
ive; it voices his joys or sorrows, his cares or complaints, his aspira- 
tions or his despair, or it gives expression to the impressions made 
upon him by nature or the events of history. 

b. Gnomic Poetry. The Hebrew Sages were fruitful in the pro- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 91 

duction of a peculiar variety of Lyric Poetry which, as it is some- 
what distinct, has come to be known as Gnomic Poetry. It "consists 
of observations on human life or society, or of generalizations 
respecting conduct and character." The outstanding representative 
of this form of poetry is the Book of Proverbs. 

2. DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

There are two of the books of poetry of the Old Testament which, 
because of their surpassing worth for the culture of the religious 
sentiments, are well entitled to the special designation of Devotional 
Literature. These are : 

(i) The Psalms. Or, as they are entitled in the Hebrew Bible, 
Praise Songs. The Psalms constitute the favorite and best known 
book of the Old Testament, Who can fittingly characterize their pre- 
eminence as an expression of the aspirations, the yearnings, the 
spiritual desires, the sense of unworthiness and need of the human 
soul? Says Driver: 'Tn the Psalter the devotional element of the 
religious character finds its completest expression and the soul is 
displayed in converse with God, disclosing to him its manifold emo- 
tions, desires, aspirations, or fears. It is the surprising variety of 
subject, and word, and occasion in the Psalms which gives them 
their catholicity, and combined with their deep spirituality, adapts 
them to be the hymn book, not only of the second temple, but of the 
Christian church." ^ 

a. Divisions. The Psalms are really a collection of five books, 
and are so divided in the Hebrew Bible. The division is as follows : 
I, Psalms I to 41 ; II, 42 to 72; HI, "]}, to 89; IV, 90 to 106; V, 107 to 
150. The end of each of the first four books is marked by a dox- 
ology. This would seem to indicate that the collections were formed 
for use in public worship, 

b. Titles and Superscriptions. These, which are varied, as A 
Psalm, A Psalm of David, A Song of Degrees, To the Chief Musi- 
cian — A Psalm of David, Maschil of Asaph, were doubtless for 
various purposes. The word mismor occurs fifty-seven times. It 
is the simplest name of a psalm and means, possibly, a psalm with a 
musical accompaniment. The proper names used may not be taken 
as certainly indicative of authorship. Selah occurs very frequently 
and is probably meant to indicate a swell in the music. 

c. Date and Authorship, The collection as to date covers a wide 
range. Some of the Psalms are the work of David ; how many we 
cannot tell. Others bear evidence of having been written some time 

^Introductipn to the Literature of the Old Testament, p. 368. 



92 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

after the return from the exile. The present form was doubtless 
attained at a date late in Old Testament history. The primary 
purpose in view was to constitute a hymn book for the worship of 
the second temple. The work of many authors is represented, 

d. Interpretation of the Psalms, Every aspect of Hebrew 
religious thought and life is, in some degree at least, reflected in 
the Psalms. The loftiest teachings of the prophets as to God and 
human duty find expression ; likewise the extreme priestly devotion 
to the law and to ritual. The language of personal religion, if 
sincere, is self-revealing. The Psalms mirror the purest aspiration 
and deepest devotion of lofty spirits. They also reveal the defects and 
shortcomings of the religious motives and spirit of men who lived 
long before the days of the Christian revelation. We cannot expect 
them to be altogether a complete and perfect expression of the 
Christian spirit. In fact, some of the Psalms fall far short of this. 
They must be interpreted in view of the times from which they 
came. The imprecatory Psalms, such as Psalm 109, have no proper 
place in Christian worship. They are directly contrary to the spirit 
of Christ, To justify such expressions as those, for example, of 
Psalm 137. 8-9 simply because the words are found in the Bible can 
only be confusing to conscience and subverting to true Christian 
motives and judgment. 

(2) Lamentations. This book consists of five poems, chiefly 
descriptive of the woes of the people of Judah during the siege of 
Jerusalem in 586, They also contain confessions of sin, exhorta- 
tions to repentance, and supplications for the divine favor and for- 
giveness. Lamentations was regularly read in the synagogue services 
every year on the anniversary of the destruction of the temple. 
Though Lamentations has been ascribed to the prophet Jeremiah 
by both Jewish and Christian tradition, the poems as they stand 
are anonymous, and many modern scholars hold that they may be 
the work of unknown writers. 

3. THE HEBREW SAGE 

(i) The Third Principal Figure of the Old Testament. Occu- 
pying a scarcely less important place in Hebrew life and literature 
than the prophet and the priest was a third chief figure, the sage, or 
wise man. The distinctive function of each of the three is indi- 
cated in Jer. 18. 18 in these words : "For the law shall not perish 
from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from 
the prophet," The sage was the counselor of ancient times. He 
was the "class leader," who went to those who looked to hini for 



I 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 93 

counsel and guidance and from his experience, by his wealth of 
common sense, good judgment, and practical wisdom, directed them 
in the right way. The wise sought out the individual, and address- 
ing him in a fatherly way, by exhortation and advice sought to 
instruct and turn him from folly to prudence, temperance, purity, 
and upright living. Their teaching was more distinctly ethical than 
religious; it was more largely characterised by shrewdness than by 
spiritual insight. It highly exalted personal purity. Its stand- 
point was individualistic, sometimes too largely prudential, and in 
general restricted in its feeling of social relationships and obliga- 
tions. 

The sage dififered from both priest and prophet in having a uni- 
versal outlook. Nationality was nothing to him ; he never mentioned 
it in any way; he seemed to recognize no distinction between the 
Hebrews and other nations. 

The wise probably came gradually to be recognized by the people 
as a class by themselves, bound together by common ideas, teaching, 
and methods. Wherever they command a place in the Old Testa- 
ment history, the designation "wise" seems to have ceased to be a 
simple adjective and to have become a substantive, referring to a 
class of individuals distinguished from others. (See, for example, 
2 Sam. 20. 16-22.) 

4. THE WISDOM LITERATURE 

(i) General Characterization. The nearest counterpart to philos- 
ophy possessed by the Hebrews is to be found in Hebrew Wisdom. 
Along with its prudential counsels, its maxims and proverbs, there 
is a considerable admixture of philosophical truth. Wisdom was 
the point of world contact on the part of the Hebrews. Here it 
was that the touch and influence of other nations became embodied 
in Hebrew literary expression. The entire scene of the Book of Job 
is laid outside Palestine. The Arabic influence is marked in it. The 
Song of Solomon has Aramaic peculiarities. Ecclesiastes probably 
shows the influence of Greek philosophy. 

(2) The Wisdom Books. As we have them, the Wisdom Books 
date probably from a late period in Israel's history. There were 
sages in the early days of Israel. They were active and their 
ideas became current among the people. Doubtless many of their 
expressions were taken up into the language of the people as 
proverbial sayings. Finally, as a culmination of the movement, the 
Wisdom Books in their present form were produced. In addition 
to those which have been named, there are a number of Wisdom 
Books which form a part of the Apocrypha. 



94 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Every Bible student should be familiar with the Wisdom of 
Solomon, and the Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesi- 
asticus. We may speak only briefly of the different canonical books : 

a. Proverbs. The Book of Proverbs is a collection of wise say- 
ings gathered from various sages. It probably represents a long 
and gradual growth. It has a wide range of counsel, from the purely 
self-regarding prudence of 6. 1-2 to the unselfish spirit of charity 
and mercy voiced in 25. 21, which anticipates some of the cherished 
teachings of Jesus. 

b. EccLESiASTES. This book differs widely from Proverbs in that it 
has a central theme. It discusses the question of the chief good of 
life. Although there is much in it that is pessimistic, it counsels 
a cheerful attitude toward life, and commends the fear of God as 
the whole duty of man. 

c. Job. This is one of the finest poems in the world's literature 
and deals with one of the most profound problems which can 
engage the human mind. How can a righteous God permit the 
righteous man to suffer? Various solutions are presented, but no 
one is set forth as adequate or final. In its reading and interpreta- 
tion, its character as poetic debate must be kept constantly in mind, 

d. Song of Songs. There is no other book of the Bible concerning 
whose interpretation there has been such prolonged and marked 
diversity of opinion. There is now some degree of unanimity in 
the judgment that regards it as a celebration of human love. 

(3) The Forms of Wisdom. The wise had numerous favorite 
literary forms, the most common of which should be studied until 
they are readily recognized. 

a. The Riddle (Judges 14. 14-18). b. The Fable (Judges 9. 8- 
15; 2 Kings 14. 9). c. The Parable (2 Sam. 12. 2-4). d. The 
Proverb (Prov. 25. 24; Jer. 31. 29). e. The Essay (Prov. 23. 29-35). 

11. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. From your own reading of Psalms and Proverbs, se- 
lect examples of each of the four varieties of parallelism. 

2. Make a list of your favorite Psalms. Write out 
briefly, but thoughtfully, the reasons why each appeals 
strongly to you. 

3. Select a modern lyric, an ode, or sonnet of some well- 
known poet, and compare with one of the Psalms. Note 
likenesses and differences. 

4. Read thoughtfully Jer. 18. 18; Deut. 16. 19; Prov. 
20. 18; 2 Sam. 20. 16-20. Write your own statement of the 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 95 

work of the wise as compared with tiiat of the prophet and 
the priest. 

5. From your own acquaintance with the Bible, add ad- 
ditional examples of each of the forms of Wisdom named 
in the Lesson Statement. 

6. Read Prov. 25. 6-7 and Luke 14, 7-1 1. Also Prov. 
16. 19 and Matt. 5. 3. Find if you can, additional parallels 
between the teaching of the wise and teachings of Jesus. 

IIL MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Books of Poetry: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of 
Songs, and Lamentations. 

2. Wisdom Books: Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of 
Songs. 

3. Devotional Books : Psalms, Lamentations. 

4. Varieties of Parallelism: Synonymous, Antithetic, 
Synthetic, Climactic. 

5. Forms of Old Testament Poetic Composition : Lyric 
Poetry (including Gnomic Poetry), Poetic Drama. 

6. Principal Forms of Wisdom : Riddle, Enigma, Fable, 
Parable, Proverb, Essay. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What is to be said concerning the antiquity of Hebrew Poetry? 

Name the books of Poetry. 

In what other Old Testament books is poetry to be found? 

Compare modern and Hebrew poetry. 

Name and give an example of each of the four varieties of Hebrew parallelism. 

Give the characteristics of Lyric Poetry. 

What other forms of poetry occur in the Bible? 

Characterize the Psalms as fully as you can. 

Into how many books is the Psalter divided? 

State important facts and principles to be borne in mind in the interpretation and 
use of the Psalms. 

What can you say of Lamentations? 

Describe the work of the sage; give a general characterization of the Wisdom 
literature. 

Give the principal facts concerning each of the Wisdom Books. 

Name the principal forms of Wisdom. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. Hebrew Poetry. 

H.D. p. 736f. D.C. p. 321L 
2i The Psalms. 

H.D. p. 769ff. K 2, 6^ 7^ D.C. p. 323f. 6, e, 7^ 8. 

3. Wisdom and the Wise. 

H.D.p. 975f. D.C. p. 378. 

4. The Teaching of Wisdom. 

D.C. p. 378, final paragraph and p. 379. 

5. Theme and Teaching of the Book of Job. 

D.C. pp. 289-291. 

6. The Song of Songs. 

H.D. p. 870-871. D.C. p. 40if. \ 2. 



96 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE WORLD OF JESUS' DAY 
L LESSON STATEMENT 

I. THE ROMAN EMPIRE 

When we pass from the Old to the New Testament, we enter a 
new period in world history. The scenes had wonderfully shifted 
from the time when Egypt, Babylonia, and Assyria were named as 
world powers. The strength of each had been broken ; the Persian 
empire in its turn had passed away ; the vast dominion of Alexander 
had broken up, and the fragments had been gathered together under 
a new rule. The governments of all the civilized peoples of the 
world had been brought under the scepter of Rome. The many 
tribes and nations inhabiting the vast expanse from the Danube 
and the friths of Scotland on the north to the African desert and the 
cataracts of the Nile, from the Atlantic Ocean on the west to the 
Euphrates River, had been brought into subjection to the Roman 
eagle and bound together into one mighty political system. 

The Roman Empire was not a sudden growth. It had been in 
the process of development, unnoticed by the nations of the East, for 
centuries. Now it was at the height of its power. Conquest had 
been accomplished ; the purpose now was rather organization than 
winning battles. The world was in comparative peace. It was a 
new condition of mankind. 

The widely separated parts of the empire were connected with 
the capital by magnificent roads. Five main lines reached out like 
great arms from Rome to the extremities. At no previous time had 
it been possible to travel with so much ease, safety, and rapidity. 
Men ran to and fro throughout the earth. Officials going from the 
capital to their distant posts passed embassies on their way from 
the provinces to Caesar's seat. Armed troops were moved from 
place to place. Commerce was increased. Merchants were travelers, 
compelled to visit all markets in person, or to send their represen- 
tatives to buy for them. One system of Roman law, uniformity in 
coins, weights, and measures, and the protection of the Roman 
legions, encouraged trade to an extent before unknown. 

As never before, the whole world spoke in one tongue. Said 
Cicero : "Greek is read in almost all nations." It was true ; wher- 



The Methodist Book Coocem, New Yoli.ond Cint- 



PALESTINE IN THE TIME OF JESUS, 4 B. C -30 A. D. 

(including the period of HEROD 40-4 B. C.) 



Co| jnght 1;106 an.l liil2, by Charles Foster Kent 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 97 

ever Greek ships had sailed they had carried their language, until 
everywhere it had become the vehicle both of commerce and of polite 
intercourse. It was almost as familiar to the Jew as the Aramaic 
dialect of his own Hebrew tongue. 

It was a time of both intellectual and religious hunger. Scholars 
visited distant lands in quest of knowledge. Great seats of learning 
had been established, as Alexandria, Athens, and Rome, and young 
men came to them from all parts of the world. Moral standards 
were low, and evil was everywhere present. Said Seneca : "All is 
full of misdoing and vice ; more sin is committed than can be made 
amends for by punishment. The delight in wickedness becomes 
greater day by day, and the fear of it less. Innocence is not merely 
rare, but almost nonexistent." The old heathen religions had 
shown their inadequacy ; everywhere there were spiritual restless- 
ness and a longing for a better and truer faith. 

2. THE GOVERNMENT OF PALESTINE IN THE LIFETIME OF JESUS 

(i) The Reign of Herod the Great. Herod I, as we have seen, 
was appointed king of Judaea by the Roman senate in B. C. 37. A 
determining factor in the appointment was, doubtless, the belief that 
Herod, energetic warrior and powerful leader as he was, would be 
able to subdue the country and maintain Roman rule. In three 
years' time Herod made conquest of Galilee and, after prolonged 
siege, recaptured Jerusalem. He had great zeal as a builder. At 
Jerusalem he early rebuilt the citadel of the temple ; later a theater, 
amphitheater, impregnable towers, and a royal palace. Throughout 
the land he erected forts, castles, and magnificent cities. Of the 
latter, Caesarea was the most important. His administration was 
successful in maintaining peace to a greater extent than had been 
known for many years. The Emperor Augustus recognized this 
success by increasing the territory of his kingdom. In B. C. 20 he 
began the erection of a new and magnificent temple, which was not 
finally completed until A. D. 64. The last years of Herod were full 
of intrigue, insane jealousy, and murder. In succession he put to 
death his beloved wife Mariamme and three of his own sons. 

(2) The Successor of Herod and Their Territories. At Herod's 
death, after a reign of thirty-three years, he divided his kingdom 
among three sons : Archelaus, to whom he gave Judaea, Samaria, 
and Idumaea, with the title of king; Herod Antipas, to whom he 
gave Galilee and Peraea, with the title of tetrarch ; and Herod 
Philip, to whom he gave the northeastern part of his kingdom, also 
with the title of tetrarch. 



98 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

a. The Province of Jud^a. The reign of Archelaus was brief, 
bloody, and cruel. In A. D. 6 he was deposed and banished by 
edict of the emperor and his territory placed under the rule of a 
procurator. The three districts were combined into an imperial 
province of the first rank, called after one of them, Judaea. The 
duties of the procurator were, first, fiscal, the collection of the 
taxes and the expenditure of a part of them on public works, and 
also military and judicial. He was invested with the power of life 
and death, appeal to the emperor being allowed only in case of 
Roman citizenship. Of the procurators, the fifth in order, Pontius 
Pilate, is best known to us because of his part in the trial of Jesus. 
He was appointed in A. D. 26 and continued in office ten years. 

A measure of religious liberty was allowed by Rome and the 
sanctity of the temple was guaranteed. It was required, however, 
that an oath of allegiance be taken to each new emperor; also that 
daily sacrifices of two lambs and an ox be made for the welfare of 
the emperor. As a measure of precaution against revolt, the pro- 
curator kept the robes of the high priest locked up in the castle 
except at the great feasts. 

b. The Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas. Galilee and Peraea con- 
stituted the territory of Herod Antipas, who bore the title tetrarch. 
In the Gospels he is spoken of as king. He reigned from B. C. 4 
to A. D. 39. Like his father, he became renowned as a builder. 
Chief among his undertakings was the building of the city Tiberias, 
on the sea of Galilee. His character was summed up by Jesus in 
one word, "fox." He maintained a semblance of peace with the 
Jews by tolerance toward them. 

c. The Tetrarchy of Herod Philip. The third part of the terri- 
tory of Herod I, bequeathed to Herod Philip as tetrarch, was com- 
posed of a number of small districts, not clearly defined, lying to the 
northeast. It embraced, among other sections, Itursea, Trachonitis, 
and Auranitis. The territory was not Jewish in population, and 
plays almost no part in New Testament history. After Herod 
Philip's death, this territory, in A. D. yj^ was given to Herod 
Agrippa I, with the title of king. 

The cities of Decapolis were city-states, each with its own govern- 
ment. 

(3) The Jewish Court. The Sanhedrin, located at Jerusalem, 
was the Jewish supreme court. At its head was the high priest; 
among its seventy members were eminent priests, scribes of the 
Pharisees and Sadducees. Its functions concerned the interpreta- 
tion and administration of the Jewish law. Its jurisdiction was 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 99 

limited to Judaea, though its decisions on religious questions were 
recognized as authoritative among Jews everywhere. 

(4) Roman Taxation. Taxes levied by Rome were not exor- 
bitant, but as a badge of servitude they were hateful to the people. 
Taxes proper were of two kinds, the tax on landed property and 
the poll tax. Besides, there were customs levied on exports. The 
right to impose customs was sold to contractors, who, in turn, made 
bargains with underlings, the publicans, who did the actual collect- 
ing. The whole scheme was such as to encourage dishonesty and 
oppression. Because of their character, and as agents of the Roman 
rule, the publicans were thoroughly hated and despised by the loyal 
Jews. 

3. HISTORICAL CHANGES DURING LATER NEW TESTAMENT TIMES 

(i) The Reign of Herod Agrippa I. When Caligula succeeded 
Tiberius as emperor, he appointed Herod Agrippa I king over what 
had been the tetrarchy of Herod Philip. Four years later, in A. D. 
41, there were added to this Judsea, Samaria, Idumaea, Galilee, and 
Persea. Thus the kingdom of Judsea, as it had existed in the days 
of Herod I, was revived. Herod Agrippa was friendly to the Jews 
and their religion. He lived in Jerusalem, was mindful of the reli- 
gious customs of Judaism, and even took part in the temple services. 
He made an attack upon Christianity by killing James with the 
sword and arresting Peter (Acts 12. 2-3). Herod Agrippa's reign 
was short. In A. D. 44, while attending the games at Csesarea, he 
was struck down by a sudden and mysterious illness. 

(2) The Fall of Jerusalem. With the death of the king, the rule 
by procurators was resumed. Great unrest prevailed among the 
Jews. One uprising followed another in quick succession. For a 
number of years the office of procurator was held by Felix, who, 
after a troublous rule, was recalled by Nero. He was succeeded by 
Fortius Festus, who died after ruling only two years. Meantime, 
internal agitation increased. Incidents, which now seem trivial, 
were made the reason for incipient rebellion. Finally, the entire 
land flamed with the fires of revolution. We cannot go into the 
sickening details of the four terrible years which followed. History 
contains few such stories. At last, at the Passover of A. D. 70, 
Titus stood before the walls of Jerusalem. For five months the 
siege continued. On July 17 the daily sacrifices of the temple ceased 
forever. In September the siege ended. The inhabitants by thou- 
sands were put to death, sold into slavery, or sacrificed as gladia- 
torial victims. The city was destroyed and a legion of Roman 



100 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

soldiers set as guard over the ruins. For two years longer soldiers 
marched to and fro, stamping out vestiges of revolt, then the land 
was proclaimed at peace. The Sanhedrin had disappeared, the Sad- 
ducees had ceased to exist, and the people had lost for all time even 
the semblance of political oneness. Emperor Vespasian retained 
Palestine as his private property and required the inhabitants to 
pay to the Roman temple of Jupiter the tax which had formerly 
gone to the support of the temple at Jerusalem. 

(3) The Final Revolution. The horror and suffering of these 
years failed to destroy completely the religious hopes which centered 
in Jerusalem. Through the reigns of several emperors the old feel- 
ings and expectations -waxed once again stronger and stronger in the 
breasts of Judaists everywhere. In Palestine, comparative peace 
reigned, and gradually the scattered population regathered. When, 
therefore, in A. D. 132, the Emperor Hadrian declared his intention 
to build a Roman city on the site of Jerusalem, and — supreme dese- 
.cration — a temple to Jupiter on the temple mount, the pent-up feel- 
ings of sixty years turned again to the frenzy of rebellion. For 
three years the war raged. Over five hundred thousand men are 
reckoned to have fallen in battle, while an uncounted number of the 
population perished of famine. It was the final great struggle of 
Judaism in war. Judaism continued to exist as a religious faith, 
its adherents scattered throughout all lands, but with no national 
center anywhere in the earth. 

4. THE JEWS OF THE DISPERSION 

By the vicissitudes of their history, and by long and intolerable 
oppression, the Jews had been scattered throughout the entire world. 
On the day of Pentecost Jews "out of every nation under heaven" 
had come together. Josephus said that there was no country on 
earth where the Jews did not make up a part of the population. Jews 
outside of Palestine had come to be spoken of as the Dispersion. 
For the most part they remained loyal to Judaism. In many cities 
they had their synagogues. The general policy of the Roman em- 
perors toward them was one of religious toleration. Throughout the 
empire, they were given the right to assemble unmolested in their 
synagogue services, exemption from military service was granted 
to them, and they were allowed to decide in their own courts matters 
affecting their own law. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Jamnia 
was made the new religious center. 

The determined policy of Rome was to destroy national feeling 
and sentiment. She desired to assimilate all states and nations 



OF TEACHER TRAINING loi 

within the empire. In this she was utterly unsuccessful in the case 
of the Jews. Though they were no longer a nation, and were every- 
where scattered, yet they maintained their separation and their racial 
unity. Because of their exclusiveness and their peculiar claims of 
superiority, they were regarded with antipathy. By the Roman 
writers they were generally spoken of with great contempt and 
abhorrence. 

5. RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN PALESTINE 

(i) The Prominence of the Synagogue. For many years the 
synagogue had been growing in prominence as a religious institu- 
tion. The temple had continued to be the national religious center. 
For this very reason all the conflicts between Jews and the heathen 
had been waged around it. At times its worship had been for a 
period entirely discontinued. Through all these troublous times the 
development of the synagogue had gone on without interruption. In 
every place it furnished an opportunity for worship, preaching, and 
study. Services were held on the Sabbath, and on two other days 
of the week. The Sabbath services consisted of prayers, Scripture 
reading from both the law and the prophets, and an address or 
sermon. Its primary purpose was instruction ; it was the true school 
of the nation. 

(2) Jewish Parties. Religious conditions in general may best be 
understood by a study of the principal religious and semipolitical 
parties existent at the time. 

a. The Pharisees. Those among the returned exiles who set 
their faces against all heathen innovations and all laxity in the 
enforcement of the law became known as Chasidim. From them 
sprang the Pharisees. They were the separatists, the holy, the pure, 
who insisted on the separation of the people of God from all the 
defilements of heathen life, and the absolute regulation of life in 
all details of daily conduct by law. They held that salvation was to 
be gained as a reward of merit for punctilious obedience of the 
law. The written law was insufficient to cover all situations and 
details of conduct, hence it was gradually expanded, additions being 
made in the form of expositions and comments, which came to be 
known as the oral law or the traditions of the elders. To copy the 
written law, to teach and administer it, to know the oral law and 
transmit it to the younger generation, became a vocation of itself. 
Those who gave themselves to it were known as Scribes. 

The Scribes formed a guild within the party of the Pharisees. 
Practically all Scribes were Pharisees, though not all Pharisees 
were Scribes. Their connection with the law and their learning 



I02 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

brought them high honor among the people, and this distinction in 
time made them arrogant and proud. The synagogue discourse was 
usually delivered by a Scribe. 

It must not be thought that all Pharisees were hypocrites. Doubt- 
less, among them were not a few humble. God-fearing men who 
served the Lord in spirit as well as in obedience to the letter. 
Among worthy Pharisees with whom the New Testament acquaints 
us were Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and Gamaliel. 

b. The Sadducees. The Sadducees were the priestly party. Grad- 
ually, from the time of the return on, the priests had accumulated 
wealth which in turn they handed down to their descendants, until 
they had come to hold much of the property. They constituted the 
aristocracy. In theology they were reactionary. It was to their 
interest to maintain the ritual and the traditional religious forms and 
customs. To many of them religion had been lost in formalism. 

c. The Zealots. The Zealot party arose within the ranks of the 
Pharisees during the rule of Herod I. Filled with an intense reli- 
gious zeal, and impatient for the coming of the Kingdom, they 
espoused force and the sword as a means of setting up the Messiah's 
reign. Their watch-cry was "No Lord but Jehovah; no tax but that 
to the temple ; no friend but the zealot." 

d. The Essenes. There was a small party known as Essenes, but 
we have almost no exact information about them. 

(3) The Faith of the Common People. Organized religion was 
principally represented by the parties we have enumerated. Outside 
of the ranks of these, however, there were many common people, 
"just and devout," who awaited in faith and patience "the consola- 
tion of Israel." The most of them were too busy earning a liveli- 
hood to be very regardful of the manner of life ordained by the 
Scribes. Others of them followed the painful directions of the 
Scribes, as far as they were able, yet lived in fellowship with God, 
according to the teachings of the prophets, trusting in his faithful- 
ness and hoping in his mercy. These were the true holy remnant; 
they it was who heard the word of Jesus with gladness, and from 
among them he drew most of his disciples. 

In the home life of the people is to be found to a large extent 
an explanation of the perpetuity of their religious institutions. It 
was pervaded by an atmosphere of piety. Childhood was revered. 
By birth children were partakers of the covenant. Very early was 
begun that instruction in the Scriptures which was to instill into the 
mind of the child love and reverence and absolute loyalty for the 
religion of his fathers. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 103 

6. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS 

Jerusalem was a great and busy city; its streets swarmed with 
people. In its shops, open to the street, were offered for sale not only 
the products of the fields, but also innumerable manufactured 
articles, among which were many things brought from distant 
markets. Various trades and occupations were carried on in the 
midst of the city. Labor was highly respected. The law required 
that every boy be taught a trade. The streets were narrow and the 
houses of the people crowded together, yet great and splendid 
palaces, luxuriously furnished, were not lacking. 

In the country parts of Judaea pastoral occupations chiefly pre- 
vailed. Galilee was better adapted to agriculture. The more fertile 
districts produced abundant crops of various kinds of grains. Figs, 
grapes, and other fruits were plentiful. The whole country was 
densely populated. Josephus states that Galilee alone had three 
walled cities and two hundred and four villages. The Gospels give 
us the impression of a teeming and industrious population. 

The rule of Rome brought numerous public works. Jerusalem 
itself had a theater, and an amphitheater for the public games. 

Frequent warfare, the crowded population, and the burdens of 
taxation kept most of the people poor. The figures in Jesus' preach- 
ing of the creditor, the debtor, and the debtor's prison were very 
familiar to the people. It was not without reason that they were 
continually asking, "What shall we eat; what shall we drink, and 
wherewithal shall we be clothed?" 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Consider the commercial greatness of Rome as testi- 
fied to by the list of articles of commerce given in Rev. 
18. 10-19. (Babylon, in all probability, here means Rome.) 

2. What is the economic and social condition reflected in 
the rhetorical figures of the following passages : Luke 12. 
58; Matt. 18. 25; Luke 14. 29; 16. 6-7; 12. 18; 19. 23? 

3. Study the references made by Jesus to the Pharisees. 
Why did he so severely condemn them? 

4. What evidences do you find in the Gospels that there 
were many devout and earnest people among the Jews of 
Jesus' day? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

(Review fully Chapter V. Also the Historical Summary 
of Chapter IX.) 



104 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

1. King of the Jews at the birth of Jesus: Herod I the 
Great. 

2. The successors of Herod I and their respective terri- 
tories: (i) Judaea, Samaria, and Idumaea, ruled over by 
Archelaus to A.D. 6; later by procurators; (2) Galilee and 
Persea, ruled over by Herod Antipas, as tetrarch; (3) the 
country to the northeast ruled over by Herod Philip, as 
tetrarch. 

3. Principal Jewish parties in the time of Jesus: (i) 
Pharisees; (2) Sadducees; (3) Zealots. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Describe the extent of the Roman empire. 
Give some notable facts concerning the empire. 
Tell of Herod the Great and his reign. 

Who were Herod's successors? What territory did each receive? 
What was the Sanhedrin? 
Who were the publicans? 

Over what territory did Herod Agrippa rule? 

Describe the circumstances of the fall of Jerusalem. Tell of events following. 
What is meant by "the Dispersion"? 

What was the place of the synagogue in the religious life of the nation? 
Name, and give the principal facts concerning each of the great parties in the time 
of Jesus. 

What is to be said of the faith of the common people? 
Tell what you can of economic and social conditions. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Roman Empire. 

H.D. p. 805. 

2. Roman Rule in Palestine. 

H.p. art. Herod, pp. 343ff. D.C. pp liflE. 

3. The Synagogue. 

H.D. 882ff. D.C. p. Ixxii^f. 

4. The Pharisees. 

H.D. p. 7i9f. D.C. p. 6307. 

5. The Scribes. 

H.D. p. 832. 

6. The Sadducess. 

H.D. p. 818. D.C. p. 630'. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING los 



CHAPTER XV 

THE NEW TESTAMENT 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. GENERAL VIEW 

(i) Name. The name New Testament is derived from Jesus' 
word, spoken during the last supper with the disciples, "This cup 
is the new testament in my blood." (Cf. Luke 22. 20.) The state- 
ment is more correctly rendered in the Revised Version, "This cup 
is the new covenant in my blood." The new covenant is in contrast 
with the old covenant made with Moses. 

(2) How the New Testament came to be. None of the New 
Testament books were written by Jesus. It is probable that for 
years after his death none of the apostles wrote anything. They 
expected the early return of their Lord, and so long as those who 
had "companied" with them "all the time that the Lord Jesus went 
in and out" among them could speak out of their personal recollec- 
tion to all who wished to hear, no need was felt for written records. 
The making of permanent records was neither as simple nor as 
inexpensive a process then as it is now, and they were not prepared 
except under the pressure of real need. But as time passed, that 
need developed. Many of the first disciples, including some of the 
apostles, suffered death by martyrdom. Believers were scattered far 
and wide. Local religious centers were established in widely sep- 
arated cities and towns. Communication by letter between the 
leaders and these communities of Christians became necessary. A 
demand arose in the churches for authentic records of the words 
and life of Christ. Those who had known Jesus in the flesh came 
to realize the importance of placing the facts in permanent form for 
the information and edification of the church. 

The New Testament grew out of the life of the early Christian 
church. It was not written to order. First were certain letters, 
later the Gospels. Each had its own individual occasion ; each was 
prepared to meet certain specific needs. Thus it may be said that 
the New Testament was the joint product of definite historical facts 
and of the Christian experience of the first followers of Jesus. It 
was the spontaneous outflow and overflow of their spiritual life, 
pirst came Jesus Christ; then carne the lives and labors of thoSQ 



io6 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

whom he inspired, creating certain definite situations ; later came 
counsels and advices, addressed to those situations, by close fol- 
lowers of Jesus, growing out of and combined with a statement of 
their religious experience, and their explanation of them. Parts of 
the Gospels and of the Acts are records of historical facts of the 
Christian beginnings ; other parts are the expression of inner expe- 
riences of Christians ; certain minor parts are simply the record of 
circumstances which borrow their significance from their relation 
to important persons and events. 

The Old Testament writings are the religious literature of a race, 
the literature of a nation and of a national church. The New 
Testament writings are the earliest literature of a religious move- 
ment which knew no bounds of race or nation. The Old Testament, 
previous to the coming of Christianity, was the property of the Jew 
alone ; the New Testament was addressed to people of many nation- 
alities. The Old Testament is the record of a gradual revelation 
extending over many centuries ; the New Testament is the expres- 
sion of the earliest Christian consciousness, and its writing extended, 
at most, over a period of a few decades. 

(3) Time of Composition. We cannot take up in detail the ques- 
tion of the date of composition of the several New Testament books. 
There are many divergences of opinion among scholars, and in the 
case of some of the books there is no general agreement as to the 
exact time of writing. Of the Epistles of Paul, the first was I 
Thessalonians, written probably in A. D. 52, The Epistle of James 
is generally believed to be among the first written of the New Tes- 
tament books and may have antedated i Thessalonians. Of the 
Gospels, the earliest was Mark. Scholars generally agree that it was 
written previous to, or in the year A. D. 70. Matthew and Luke 
followed within a few years. The fourth Gospel and the Epistles of 
John are thought to be the latest of the books of the New Testament. 

(4) Language. The New Testament was written in the Greek 
language. The conquests of Alexander had been followed by the 
diffusion of the Greek tongue throughout the world. Almost per- 
fect in its power to express thought, it was wonderfully well fitted 
as a medium of expression of the new faith. The Greek of the New 
Testament is not the classical form of the language, but what is 
known as Hellenistic Greek, a peculiar idiom, differing in vocabu- 
lary, structure, and style from the former. The Aramaic dialect 
of the Hebrew language was common in Palestine in New Testa- 
ment times, and traces of it are found in the pages of the New 
Testament 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 107 

(5) Literary Forms. The New Testament is not so varied in 
literary form as the Old Testament. Of poetry there is very little. 
Of prose, the principal kinds represented are historical narrative, 
oratory, reflective writing, and letters. Of the latter, some are per- 
sonal letters, others are of the nature of essays with a minimum of 
the personal element. Revelation is the one book in the New Testa- 
ment representative of apocalyptic literature. 

(6) Genuineness. The New Testament books are themselves, in 
their nature and character, the best possible evidence of their gen- 
uineness. The}'- bear on their own pages the highest testimony to the 
unique quality of inspiration which produced them. Criticism has 
brought forth a convincing mass of testimony to the authenticity 
of the various books, which is of immense value as corroborative 
evidence. No amount of such evidence, however, will convince the 
man who has not the will to believe, while to him whose heart and 
mind are open, these books are self-authenticating. 

The imique character of the books of the New Testament may be 
strikingly shown by comparing them with the so-called Apocryphal 
Gospels. Any unprejudiced reader who will compare the simple, 
powerful narrative of the Gospels with the fantastic, artificial fictions 
which picture Jesus as a lad making pigeons of mud and causing 
them to fly, or striking dead another boy who had angered him by 
tearing down a dam he had built, or, at the resurrection, towering 
aloft with a head that reached to the heavens, will need no muster- 
ing of external facts to convince him that our Gospels are what they 
assert themselves to be. 

While the New Testament books witness to the fact that they are 
inspired of God, they nowhere disavow having a human element. 
The Gospels are the Gospels "according to Matthew," "according 
to Mark," "according to Luke," and "according to John." Each 
partakes of the individuality of its author. The writers were not 
wooden instruments, but living men, each with his own mind, and 
heart, and will. Each man wrote as God moved him; the human 
personality is not like a phonograph record. The authors of the 
New Testament wrote not merely what had come to them through 
the medium of sense impressions, but, in addition to what they 
had seen and heard, according to what their hearts had felt and their 
souls had realized of the truth. 

2. DIVISIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

(i) The Gospels. While the Gospels, as stated above, are not 
the earliest books of the New Testament in date of composition, they 



io8 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

are fittingly placed first because they contain the record of the life 
and teachings of Jesus Christ, except for whom we would not have 
had a New Testament. 

Gospel means good news, that is, the good news of God made 
known to man in the person, the life, death, resurrection, and teach- 
ing of Jesus. We commonly speak of four Gospels ; it is more 
accurate to speak of the four different accounts of the one Gospel. 
None of the narratives are complete ; as biographies, they cannot be 
said to be anything more than fragmentary accounts of the life of 
Jesus. 

Because of what the Gospels are, they deserve preeminence in our 
Bible study. However much attention we may give to other parts of 
the Bible, we should apply ourselves with still greater diligence 
and zeal to the study of the life and teaching of our Lord. For 
Christians, nothing else can compare in importance with this subject. 

The first three Gospels have many close similarities. They are 
constructed on the same general plan ; they have many incidents and 
discourses in common, and not infrequently they use identical 
language. For this reason they are called the Synoptic Gospels, 
which means "having the same view." The Gospel of John differs 
in many respects from the other Gospels, hence stands in a class by 
itself. To illustrate briefly : most of the scenes of the Synoptists' 
narratives are in Galilee, John's incidents center in Jerusalem ; the 
Synoptists narrate the external events of the ministry, John is prin- 
cipally concerned with the interpretation of events ; the Synoptists 
give many miracles and parables, John gives few miracles and no 
parables; the Synoptists tell of Jesus' relation to men, John treats 
of his relation to God. 

a. The Gospel According to Matthew. The first Gospel bears 
the name of the apostle Matthew, who also figures in the narratives 
as Levi, the publican (Mark 2. 14-15; Luke 5. 27-29; cf. Matt. 9. 
9-10). Aside from the authorship of this book, Matthew plays an 
inconspicuous part in New Testament history. Among the outstand- 
ing characteristics of this Gospel should be noticed : the prominence 
given to discourses of Jesus (five great discourses are reported), the 
quotations from the Old Testament, three times as many as in any 
other Gospel ; the pronounced Jewish atmosphere which pervades it ; 
the presentation of Jesus as Messiah, Judge, and King. It is evi- 
dent that the author had Jewish readers principally in mind. His 
purpose was to convince them that Jesus was the true Messiah, that 
he founded a universal kingdom, and thai all true Jews should for- 
sake Judaism and become followers of Jesus. Both Renan, the 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 109 

French skeptic, and the German scholar Julicher, declare Matthew's 
Gospel to be the most important book ever written. Says the latter : 
"Matthew is certainly the most important book that has ever been 
written. It has had such an extraordinary influence upon the 
church because it is the work of a man who bore in himself the 
spirit of the great church then coming into existence and knew how 
to write a Gospel adapted to all believers." 

b. The Gospel According to Mark. We have statements from 
the second century to the effect that Mark wrote what he had 
heard Peter preach. From the time of the early church fathers, it 
has been customary to regard the second Gospel as written by Mark 
under the influence of Peter. It is a narrative full of action, written 
in simple, vivid, graphic style. Says Farrar : "Swift and incisive, 
Mark's narrative proceeds straight to the goal, like the Roman 
soldier on his march to Babylon." The author has rare facility in 
putting forth striking details and in imparting the touch of reality. 
Everywhere there is revealed wonderful energy, mighty power. It 
is so constituted as to make a strong appeal to the practical Roman 
world. The Gospel was evidently written for Gentiles with the belief 
and purpose that the simple, straightforward presentation of the 
facts of the ministry of Jesus would convince men that he was the 
Christ, the Son of God. Accordingly, the facts are briefly and 
simply presented and then left to make their own impression. 

c. The Gospel According to Luke. The third Gospel is believed 
to be the work of Luke, "the beloved physician," companion of 
Paul, to whom is assigned also the authorship of the Acts. For 
polish of utterance and beauty of style it is unsurpassed. The 
universal note is strong in it. The author, as he wrote, had in mind 
Gentile converts to Christianity; sinners and outcasts are partakers 
of the blessings of the Gospel ; Jesus is the brother of men, the 
sympathizing friend and helper, the Great Physician, the Saviour of 
mankind. Certain parables, not found elsewhere, are recorded ; 
women figure in the narrative with especial prominence ; a long 
account of the Persean ministry (9. 51 to 18. 14), which occurs 
nowhere else, is given. The author's purpose in writing he has him- 
self stated in his preface (i. 1-4). Renan pronounced the Gospel of 
Luke to be the most beautiful book ever written. 

d. The Gospel According to John. The fourth Gospel is com- 
monly attributed to the apostle John. In contrast to the simple 
historical narrative of the Synoptists, it may be considered an inter- 
pretation of the life and work of Jesus. Clement of Alexandria, 
writing about A. D. 200, states on the authority "of the elders of an 



no FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

earlier generation" that "John, last, when he saw that the outward 
facts had been set forth in the (other) Gospels, impelled by his 
friends, and divinely moved by the Spirit, made a spiritual Gospel." 
John begins with the call of the first disciples; he makes no men- 
tion of the birth, infancy, or childhood of Jesus; nor of the baptism 
or temptation. He relates no parables and records few miracles. He 
has no account of the sermon on the mount, the transfiguration, or 
of the institution of the Lord's Supper. He represents Jesus as Lord 
and Saviour, the Incarnate Word, who is the life and light of men, 
the preexistent and eternal Son of God. 

(2) The Acts. The Book of Acts stands in a class by itself in 
the New Testament; it is the one most distinctively historical book, 
and it is the one book which gives an account of the rise and growth 
of the early Christian church. From an early period its authorship 
has been assigned to Luke. It is addressed to an individual, The- 
ophilus, as a continuation of a "former treatise," understood to be 
the third Gospel. (For further treatment, see chapter xix, p. 141.) 

(3) The Epistles of Paul. More of the books of the New Testa- 
ment are from the hand of the apostle Paul than from any other 
writer. His great work as an organizer of churches in different 
parts of the world, and his intimate relations with his converts, 
combined with his aptitude for expressing Christianity in the thought 
forms of the day, resulted in his writing many letters. Not all have 
been preserved, although we have thirteen which have been gener- 
ally ascribed to him. (For further treatment, see chapter xx, pp. 

150-153.) 

(4) The General Epistles. The designation "General," or 
"Catholic," has been generally applied, since the time of the church 
fathers, to the seven New Testament books bearing the names of 
James, Peter, John, and Luke. They are so called because they are 
not addressed to any particular church, or churches, and, with the 
probable exceptions of second and third John, are "general," or cir- 
cular, letters. For convenience of classification, and because it, too, 
is general In its nature, we include with this group the Epistle to 
the Hebrews. 

a. The Epistle of James. This Epistle is generally accredited to 
"James, the Lord's brother" (Gal. i. 19), who, for many years, was 
bishop of Jerusalem. It was evidently written for Jewish Chris- 
tians. In teaching it is closely related to the Wisdom Books. It 
has some points of resemblance to the sermon on the mount. There 
is little doctrinal emphasis ; the Christian faith is stated in terms of 
moral excellence; he that doeth righteousness is accepted of God. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING in 

b. The First Epistle of Peter, This letter is with unanimity 
ascribed to the apostle Peter. It is an important and valuable book, 
especially rich in consolation to the persecuted and the tempted. 

c. The Second Epistle of Peter. The church was slow in giv- 
ing recognition to this letter as from the hand of Peter, and its 
authorship cannot now be considered as entirely settled. Its main 
purpose is to guard its readers against false teachings. 

d. The First Epistle of John. This letter, from a very early 
period believed to be the work of the apostle John, is in the nature 
of a sermon or pastoral address. It has a number of prominent 
words and ideas in common with the fourth Gospel. 

e. The Second and Third Epistles of John. These letters bear 
internal evidence of having come from the same hand as the first 
epistle. It is uncertain whether they are personal letters or ad- 
dressed in figurative language to a church. Their main object is to 
warn against false teachings and against schism. 

f. The Epistle of Jude. The superscription names as author 
"Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James" — that is, 
probably, James of Jerusalem. He writes to expose and condemn 
ungodly men who boldly propagate false teaching in the public con- 
gregation, and to exhort his readers to adhere to the true faith 
and contend for it, and to exemplify purity of life. 

g. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Origen was so perplexed 
concerning the authorship of this Epistle as to say, "Who 
wrote this Epistle God alone certainly knows." Although its title 
in the Saint James Version attributes it to Paul, the one almost 
unanimous opinion of modern scholars is that it was not written 
by him. The keyword of the book is "better." The superiority of 
the Christian faith to Judaism is elaborately set forth in a series of 
comparisons. The argument is followed by earnest exhortations. 

(5) The Apocalypse. The Book of Revelation. The author 
describes himself as "John, servant of God." He has generally 
been identified with the apostle, author of the fourth Gospel, 
although there is far from being universal agreement. Revelation 
stands by itself in the New Testament. With the book of Daniel, 
it belongs to that class of Jewish writing which before the close of 
the Old Testament canon superseded the earlier forms of prophecy. 
The message of the book is couched in obscure symbols and images, 
and in visions, and although they are impressive and beautiful, the 
are at the same time difficult, and in some cases even impossible, o' 
interpretation. Interpreters have widely differed in their views. The 
religious value of Revelation lies not in a supernatural disclosure of 



112 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

great mysteries, but in its testimony to the faith and hope of the 
persecuted church of Christ, and in its power to comfort, sustain, 
and inspire burdened souls of every age. The dominating thought 
throughout is of the final complete triumph of Christ over all forces 
and agencies of unrighteousness. 

3. FORMATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CANON 

We have evidence that in the second century lists of books re- 
garded as canonical were made. Irenseus (d. igo) declared, "What- 
ever the prophets proclaimed, the Lord preached, and the apostles 
handed down," was worthy of acceptance. The first collection of 
books of which we have record, the Muratorian Fragment, dates 
from about A. D. 170. There is a Syriac version of the New Testa- 
ment called the Peshitto, second century, which has all of our New 
Testament books, except five, and no others. The question of the 
canon has been practically settled since A. D. 397, for the Third 
Council of Carthage, of that date, listed all of the books of our New 
Testament on the ground that these were what had been received 
by the fathers. Doubtless many other books, of which some are 
known to us, as the Epistle of Clement, and the Epistle of Barnabas, 
were given consideration. Through all these years a process of 
choice and elimination was at work. The guiding principle of the 
process we are able to discern. The hooks which continued to he 
read in the churches at puhlic worship gradually came to he regarded 
as the Christian Scriptures. Preference was given to hooks of apos- 
tolic authorship and to other hooks which agreed with those written 
by apostles. Thus those hooks were permanently retained which 
commended themselves to the Christian consciousness of helievers. 
No general church council voiced what it asserted to be an author- 
itative statement until after the beginning of the Reformation, when, 
in 1546, the Council of Trent of the Roman Catholic Church defined 
the canon of both the Old and New Testaments. In this canon the 
Apocrypha was included, and has remained a part of the Catholic Old 
Testament to this day. Protestants do not recognize the Apocry- 
phal books as canonical. There has never been a decision rendered 
by a Council of the universal Christian church, nor by a council of 
all of Protestantism. Nor is such needed, for, as Luther contended, 
"A Council cannot make that Scripture which is not Scripture by 

nature." 

4. THE NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS 

As in the case of the Old Testament, the original manuscripts of 
the New Testament have all perished. The natural deterioration 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 113 

of the frail materials, wrought by time, combined with the deliber- 
ate purpose of enemies of the Christian religion, accounts for this. 
Fortunately, some few precious manuscript copies of great age have 
been preserved — it would seem almost miraculously. Of these we 
name the most important : 

(i) The Vatican Manuscript, Codex B. This is a manuscript 
in Greek which contains almost the entire Bible. It is held by 
many scholars to be the oldest and best manuscript of the New 
Testament in existence. It is written on fine vellum. It takes its 
name from the fact that it is in the possession of the Vatican library 
in Rome. It is believed to date from the first half of the fourth 
century. 

(2) Codex Sinaiticus. This manuscript was discovered in a mon- 
astery in 1359 at the foot of Mount Sinai by the biblical scholar 
Tischendorf. It contains the entire New Testament, besides some 
fragments of the Old Testament. It is written on three hundred and 
forty-six and one half leaves of finest vellum, made from antelope 
skins. The discoverer dates it A. D. 340. 

(3) Codex Alexandrinus. Little is known of the early history of 
this manuscript. It is now in the British Museum. It contains not 
only the New Testament, but the entire Old Testament and some 
fragments of other writings. It dates from the first half of the fifth 
century. 

(4) Other Manuscripts. Besides these, there are about one 
hundred other ancient Greek manuscripts. All of these are written 
in capital letters, without separation between the words, and from 
this fact are called uncials. In addition, there are some two thou- 
sand later, or more modern, manuscripts, dating from the ninth to 
the fifteenth century, written in an ordinary running hand. These 
latter are called cursives. While it is greatly to be regretted that we 
have no autograph copies of the New Testament books, it should 
also be realized that we are very fortunate to possess so large a 
number of ancient manuscripts, especially when it is remembered 
that of the great classics scarcely a dozen manuscript copies of any 
one are in existence. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

I. Write out in parallel columns the following passages: 
Matt. 26. 31-35; Mark 14. 27-31. Luke 22. 31-34; John 
13. 36-38. Make a close study of these passages, noting 
minutely the resemblances and differences in sentences, 



114 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

clauses, and words. Which three of the accounts have most 
in common? 

2. Read the following passages and note the ascertainable 
facts concerning Mark, the author of the second Gospel : 
Acts 12. 12, 25; 15. 37, 39; Col. 4. 10; Philem. 24; 2 Tim. 
4. 11; I Peter 5. 13. 

3. Read the preface to Luke's Gospel (i. 1-4). Write out 
the reasons which the author gives for writing. Compare 
a reason which John gives for writing (20. 31). 

4. Read as much of the Gospel of Luke in one sitting as 
your time permits and verify by example the characteristics 
of the book named above. 

5. Compare the Epistle of James with the sermon on the 
mount. What teachings have they in common? 

6. Read the Epistle to the Hebrews and notice its key- 
word, ''better." As Christians, what do we have better 
than the Jews had ? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

Review fully the memory assignment of Chapters II and 
IIL 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Where did the New Testament get its name? 
Tell as fully as you can how the New Testament came to be. 

Within what dates was the New Testament written? Which were the earliest 
books? The latest? 

In what language was the New Testament written? 

Name the principal literary forms of the New Testament. 

How do we know the New Testament books to be genuine? 

Why should the Gospels have first place in our Bible study? 

Why are the first three Gospels called the "Synoptic Gospels"? 

Give in turn the principal characteristics of each of the Gospels. 

Why are the "General Epistles" so called? State the principal facts concerning each. 

Describe the process by which the New Testament Canon was formed. 

Name the principal New Testament manuscripts. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Aims of the Evangelists. 

H.D. p. 304I. 

2. The Synoptic Problem. 

D.C. p. Ixxxiii. H.D. p. 305^. 

3. The Gospel of Mark. 

D.C. p. 723*. H.D. p. S78ff. 

4. The Gospel of John. 

D.C. pp. 770-773. H.D. pp. 477. 

5. The Book of Revelation. 

D.C. pp. 1065-1069. H.D. p. 797f. 

6. The Epistles of Peter, 

D.C. p. 1038-1040, 1048-1049. H.D. pp. 7i4fiE. 
7. The Text of the New Testament. 
D.C. p. xv8. H.D. p. 9i6f. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 115 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE BIOGRAPHY OF JESUS 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

1. THE GOSPELS AS BIOGRAPHIES 

The Gospels cannot be considered biographies of Jesus in the sense 
that they undertake to give a complete account of his life. The 
author of the fourth Gospel intimates that he leaves unwritten much 
more than he presents (John 21. 25). Each writer selects certain 
material, presumably that which, in his judgment, will serve him 
best in fulfilling the object for which he writes. Each Gospel in a 
measure supplements the others, for each has some independent 
material. We shall consider briefly the characteristics of each 
Gospel as a biography. 

(i) The Gospel of Matthew. It is a first step in Matthew's pur- 
pose to prove that Jesus is the true Messiah of the Jews. In ac- 
cordance with this purpose he chooses those teachings and incidents 
which support this thesis. He selects for use those acts which are 
in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. It might almost be said 
that the motto of Jesus' life as presented by Matthew is : *T am 
come to fulfill." He not only fulfills prophecy, he is the consumma- 
tion of the long and checkered history related in the Old Testament. 
He is the realization of all the hints, foreshadowings, and predic- 
tions of the true king. In this seed of Abraham through whom 
blessing comes to all nations, the promises made to the father of all 
believers are fulfilled.^ Matthew gives little heed to chronological 
order; he arranges his material by topics rather than in order of 
occurrence. For example, chapters five to seven present Jesus as a 
teacher ; chapters eight and nine, as a worker of miracles ; chapter 
thirteen brings together in one group parables spoken at different 
times. 

(2) The Gospel of Mark. The second Gospel is a simple, direct, 
unadorned, rapidly moving account of the public career of Jesus. 
There is no genealogy connecting Jesus with the chosen line ; there 
is no story of the infancy ; there is no emphasis upon the fulfillment 
of prophecy. The author is interested not in showing Jesus' relation 
to the past or in demonstrating that he is the promised Messiah of 
the Jews, but in presenting him as he formed a part of the life of 



*Cf. Dods, Introduction to the New Testament, p. 21. 



ii6 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

his day and as he appeared to the men of his times. The narrative 
centers in the busy Galilaean ministry and in the supreme events 
of Passion week. There is little evidence of any attempt at literary 
construction. Although discourses and sayings are not lacking, 
there is a preference for the deeds of Jesus. These are reproduced 
as though borne freshly in memory, presenting a realistic picture full 
of details. These extend even to the bodily movements of Jesus and 
to the expression of his face. Thus we have record of how Jesus, 
when he had taken the loaves and fishes from the disciples, "looked 
up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves" (6. 41). When he 
healed the deaf mute he "took him aside from the multitude" and 
"put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 
and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Eph- 
phatha, that is, be opened" (7. 33-34). Frequently, as here, the 
feelings of Jesus are described ; likewise the effects produced on the 
people, as, when he healed the sick of the palsy, the witnesses were 
"all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this 
fashion" (2. 12). (See also 3. 5 ; 8. 12; 6. 6; 7. Z7-) While Mark's 
is the briefest of the Gospels, it has such wealth of detail that not 
infrequently its account of events common to the Synoptists is 
longer than the parallel accounts. 

(3) The Gospel of Luke. The third Gospel, more than any of 
the others, is entitled to be called a biography of Jesus. In his open- 
ing statement the author declares his intention to write an orderly ac- 
count, and in this, it seems evident, he succeeded. The completeness 
of his narrative is shown by the facts that he begins with events 
antecedent to the birth, records incidents of the infancy and child- 
hood found nowhere else, and has a considerable body of material 
dealing with the ministry of Jesus possessed by no other Gospel. 
Jesus is shown to have been born among the poor and lowly, humble 
shepherds celebrate his birth, his parents offer for him the sacrifice 
of the poor, and as a man he was homeless, having not where to 
lay his head. The human aspects of Jesus are strikingly set forth ; 
by his genealogy he is declared to be a member of the universal 
human family, "the son of Adam, which was the son of God" (3. 
38) ; as a child he is subject to the ordinances of the law and to 
parental authority, and as man subject to like temptations as other 
men. To Luke we are chiefly indebted for our knowledge of Jesus 
as a man of prayer. But the author also presents him in his divine 
aspects; he calls him "Lord" more often than either of the other 
Synoptists. 

Jesus ministers with divine compassion and love to sinful and 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 117 

suffering men. He is the friend of the outcast. The parable of 
the prodigal (15. 11-32), the story of the good Samaritan (10. 25-37), 
the incident of the visit to Zacchseus, the pubHcan (19. i-io), the 
anointing of Jesus by the sinful woman in the house of Simon the 
leper (7. 36-50), with other like incidents, are here alone recorded. 
Jesus is also shown to be the protector of the weak and helpless ; he 
has sympathy with the poor, with the unfortunate, and with little 
children. He is gentle and long suffering. As in no other Gospel, 
women occupy a place of prominence in the narratives. 

It is to be noted that the third Gospel alone refers to Jesus' 
application to himself of the words of Isaiah 4. 18-19. Reference 
is also made to Jesus' quotation on this occasion of the proverb, 
"Physician, heal thyself." He is portrayed as the Great Physician, 
healer alike of the bodies and the souls of men. His recorded mir- 
acles are largely miracles of healing ; of the six which are peculiar 
to this Gospel, five are miracles of physical healing, 

(4) The Gospel of John. John writes to convince men that 
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. It is his thought that this 
result can be best attained by presenting the facts of the life of Jesus 
which had appealed most strongly to him. He wants his readers 
to see Jesus as he had seen him. This desire influences his 
method of presenting his facts. He gives the facts plus an interpre- 
tation, his understanding of the significance of the facts. Sometimes 
even in his reports of a conversation or discourse he so recasts and 
interprets the original sayings that it is difficult to distinguish be- 
tween the exact words of Jesus and the comment or explanation 
which has been added. (See, for example, 3. 16-21.) We know that 
much of the original language has been preserved, but taking the 
Gospel as a whole, it may be said that the report of the life and 
words of Jesus is mediated to us through the thought and expe- 
rience of another. Fortunately for us, the writer is that one of all 
the contemporaries of Jesus who best knew, best loved, and best 
understood him. He had also rare spiritual discernment. In con- 
sequence, the events and teachings conveyed to us are those which 
are most significant and profound. While, therefore, the fourth 
Gospel can least of all be stjded a biography of Jesus, in the com- 
mon sense of the term, it is at the same time one of those which 
we could least afford to do without. No other book in the world 
is quite so dear to the heart of the devout believer as the Gospel of 
John. It speaks to the deep reaches of the human mind and soul. 
It has a charm and power of attraction that are all its own. It 
gives us a view of Jesus which we get nowhere else. Many hold 



ii8 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

that it presents the highest and truest revelation of Jesus ever given 
to his followers. 

Many of the outstanding events of Jesus' life, as related by the 
Synoptists, are passed over in silence by the fourth Gospel. Chief 
stress throughout is placed upon events occurring in Judaea, espe- 
cially in Jerusalem ; a large part of the Gospel is given over to re- 
ports of conversations and discourses of Jesus. A number of these, 
as the conversation with the woman of Samaria (4. 4-26), the dis- 
course on the bread of life (6. 22-71), and on the light of the world 
(8. 12-30), are not found elsewhere. A peculiarity of these dis- 
courses is that they are self-revealing ; in them Jesus discloses his 
thought about himself in a remarkable way. Constantly, by means 
of these self-disclosures, the writer keeps us in the presence of the 
Divine Christ. Withal, the account exhibits a vividness of detail 
which assures us of the writer's clear memory of the events and 
words which he records. 

2. THE LIFE OF JESUS 

(i) The Birth and Early Life of Jesus. 

a. Birth and Infancy, Matthew and Luke agree that Jesus was 
born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod, The common 
chronology, which dates from the sixth century, is known to be in- 
correct. Herod the Great died B. C. 4. The probability is that 
the birth of Jesus occurred about B'. C. 6. After the fulfillment of 
the Jewish religious rites customary at the birth of a male child, 
from fear of Herod the family fled to Egypt, where they remained 
until Herod's death, and then returned to Nazareth. 

b. Childhood and Youth. A single brief reference is all that 
is contained in the Gospels concerning the childhood of Jesus, but 
Luke's statement is rich in suggestion. It presents to us the picture 
of an ideal childhood in which a strong body, an alert mind, a sub- 
missive will, and an obedient heart were combined in a continually 
developing personality. At about twelve years of age a Jewish boy 
became a "son of the law." Previous to this time, in addition to 
the careful religious instruction of a home where devout piety pre- 
vailed, he had doubtless had the training of the synagogue services 
and the synagogue school. The intimation of the temple incident is 
that even at this age something of the profound knowledge and 
wonderful understanding of the Old Testament so characteristic of 
Jesus' maturer years was already manifest. We may well believe 
that in the ensuing years of silence and obscurity, through daily dis- 
cipline, earnest and prolonged searching to know and to do the 



OF TEACHER TRAiNING 119 

Father's will, habitual practice of prayer, and unvarying obedience 
to the Spirit's leading, the youth Jesus came gradually into posses- 
sion of that marvelous perfection of character which, revealed to 
the world in the brief period of his active ministry, has received the 
reverent admiration of all succeeding centuries. 

(2) Opening Events of Jesus' Ministry. 

a. The Ministry of John the Baptist. John proclaimed the 
near approach of the kingdom of God. He was a unique figure, 
reminding us in many respects of the prophet Elijah. Apparently 
without any previous consultation with Jesus, conscious within him- 
self that a day of great spiritual opportunity and privilege was at 
hand, he went forth into the region of Judaea and the Jordan valley 
to preach a stern message of denunciation, of warning, and of invi- 
tation to repentance. He baptized, but made no attempt to attach 
disciples to himself, pointing instead to a Coming One, whose bap- 
tism would be spiritual, and who would exercise judgment. 

b. The Baptism and Temptation. Jesus set his seal of approval 
•on John's work by presenting himself for baptism. At first John 
demurred, then consented to baptize him. In his baptism Jesus was 
conscious of the Holy Spirit's coming upon him, and of the Father's 
attestation of his divine sonship. Luke says, parenthetically, that 
Jesus at this time was about thirty years of age. The baptism was 
immediately followed by a period of special temptation. There had 
come to Jesus a new sense of his power. Increase of power always 
brings temptation. How should this power be used? The evil sug- 
gestions were for ministry to self, for vain display, for self-aggran- 
dizement. But Jesus had hidden the Word of God in his heart and 
on every occasion he was aided by it in successful defense. 

c. First Followers and the Early Jud^an Ministry, The 
fourth Gospel alone records certain opening events of Jesus' min- 
istry. (See John i. 19 to 4. 42.) John the Baptist introduced Jesus 
first to priests and Levites from Jerusalem, and then to some of his 
own disciples, in such a way as to enlist them as followers of Jesus. 
With few details supplied, the scene of this early ministry shifts 
rapidly from Judaea to Galilee, thence again to Judaea for seemingly 
a brief period, then back again to Galilee by way of Samaria. 

(3) The Galilaean Ministry. 

a. Beginnings in Galilee and First Opposition. The imprison- 
ment of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas was immediately fol- 
lowed by the coming of Jesus to Galilee, which was to become the 
scene of the greater part of his ministry. He removed his residence 
from Nazareth to Capernaum, and from that city as a center he 



120 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

began to preach to the people that the kingdom of God had come, 
and to teach in the synagogues. He extended to four men, Simon, 
Andrew, James, and John — already his disciples — an invitation to 
turn from their occupation of fishing and to become "fishers of men." 
He commanded the attention and interest of the multitude by exer- 
cising a ministry of healing in Capernaum and its vicinity, and then, 
v^hen they thronged about him v^ith excess of curiosity, he departed 
on a tour of preaching and teaching through Galilee. As he went 
from place to place, an example of tireless energy in ministry to 
the bodies and souls of men, he drew after him a company of dis- 
ciples. We have reason to believe that there were more of these 
followers than are mentioned by name in the Gospel narratives. The 
call of Levi, the publican, who became known as Matthew, receives 
special mention. Opposition, born of religious prejudice, began to 
be manifest. Scribes and Pharisees openly opposed themselves, 
incited by the attitude of Jesus toward the "oral law" or teaching 
of the rabbis. Specific examples are to be seen in the cases of the 
question about fasting and of the disciples' plucking grain on the 
Sabbath. (See Mark 2. 18-22; Mark 2. 23-28.) Jesus did not en- 
deavor to placate these leaders, though he clearly realized their great 
influence with the people, but, on the contrary, publicly attacked 
them as hypocrites. The fame of Jesus spread widely among the 
people during these days. 

b. Choosing of the Twelve and the Sermon on the Mount. 
From the company of disciples Jesus now chose twelve apostles to 
be his authorized representatives, to go forth in his name and 
impart his teaching to the world. To them and the whole company 
of disciples he gave that most notable summary of his teaching, the 
sermon on the mount. Accompanied by the apostolic band, and at 
times by other disciples, he itinerated from place to place, minister- 
ing in body, mind, and soul to all in need, and using his acts of 
mercy and kindness as means of enforcing his spoken message. 

c. Spreading the Gospel Throughout Galilee. The synoptic 
accounts report a remarkable series of miracles as taking place at 
this time. He stilled the tempest, cured the demoniac, raised the 
daughter of Jairus from the dead, gave sight to the blind, and 
caused the dumb to speak. (See Matt. 8. 18 to 9. 34.) These were 
followed within a short time by the feeding of the five thousand. 
These miracles were occasional incidents in a constantly continuing 
work of evangelization. Jesus preached to the people wherever they 
gathered together. Not infrequently he addressed great crowds, but 
he seemed to prefer speaking to a few people at a time. He gave 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 121 

much attention and time to training the twelve. Later he sent them 
out two by two, preparing them to carry on his work. 

d. The Crisis in Galilee. Strange as it may seem, there were 
those who found reason for offense even in such a gracious and 
beautiful ministry as this of Jesus, His early acquaintances at 
Nazareth, even some of his relatives, not able to understand him, 
resented his claims and opposed themselves to him (Mark 6. 1-6). 
The Pharisees, jealous of their own popularity and power, were 
stirred, first to jealousy, and then to hatred. The common people 
heard him gladly, and many turned from their haughty, self-ap- 
pointed leaders to him, the meek and lowly teacher, who by his 
spirit and his words revealed the heavenly Father anew to them. 
This stirred the Pharisees to more intense jealousy. Jesus did not 
patronize them, but boldly exposed their hypocrisy, their spiritual 
pride, their lack of godlike qualities of character, and condemned 
them in severest terms. Their enmity and hostility were aroused^ 
Earlier in his ministry, while he was comparatively unknown, they 
had taken no pronounced measures against him. But now, his 
popularity having become widespread, they planned open and 
aggressive opposition. The interest of the multitude in him was 
shown to be superficial. They wanted a popular hero, a spectacular 
Messiah, a political leader who would organize revolt against Rome. 
They attempted to make him their king by force (John 6. 15). But 
Jesus steadfastly refused to accede to their Messianic ideas and de- 
mands, and presented his mission in its exclusively spiritual char- 
acter. It was not his work, he declared, to feed the multitude with 
bread, such as Moses gave, but to impart to them his Spirit and his 
truth. At this juncture the multitudes began to turn from him. 
Many professed disciples also forsook him, but the twelve remained 
true. Up to this time he had told them little of himself. Gradually, 
however, they had been coming to their own appreciation of 
him, and now, when, on a journey for retirement and rest in the 
region of Csesarea Philippi, he asked them for their estimate of him, 
Peter, as spokesman, declared their conviction that he was the Christ, 
the Son of God (Matt. 16. 13-20). Jesus accepted this confession 
from their lips and declared to them that it was heaven-born. But 
he further indicated that the time had not yet come for this to be 
spread abroad, and asked them to tell no man, 

e. The Final Period of the Galilean Ministry. From this 
time on a new element entered into the teaching of Jesus. He 
began to declare to his disciples that he must suffer rejection and 
condemnation by the leaders of the people, and be killed by them. 



122 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

At first the disciples revolted strongly from this, but afterward 
appear to have placed it in the background of their thought. Jesus 
declared to them that this test of rejection and condemnation, which 
he had already met in anticipation, was also the test of true disciple- 
ship ; that his disciples could gain the true life only by a readiness to 
lose the present life for his sake. This first definite teaching of 
Jesus concerning his rejection was followed very shortly by his 
transfiguration. We cannot but feel that the two have a very inti- 
mate connection. Throughout this period preceding the final de- 
parture from Galilee, the most prominent feature of Jesus's work 
was his instruction of his disciples. 
(4) The Peraean Ministry. 

a. The Rapid Round of Events. It is difficult — indeed, quite 
impossible — to fix chronological periods in the life of our Lord. 
Some scholars have maintained that the active ministry extended 
over a period of between three and four years. Other eminent 
students have contended for a period of one and a half years. 
None of the evangelists were sufficiently interested in the time 
element to furnish us with conclusive data. Upon this all are 
agreed, that from the occasion of Peter's confession events rap- 
idly crowded on the tragic end. Preceding the departure from 
Galilee, there was an autumn journey to Jerusalem to the Feast of 
Tabernacles. (See John 7. i to 8. 59.) At the Feast of Dedication, 
Jesus was again in Jerusalem (John 10. 22-42), but of the interven- 
ing events we have scant information. 

b. Teaching Throughout Per^a. The duration of the Persean 
ministry was doubtless brief. Its object, apparently, was to carry 
the gospel to that section of Jewish territory to which Jesus had 
previously given little attention. Seventy disciples were sent out on 
a tour of evangelization. Jesus himself was also busily engaged in 
teaching. One of the crowning miracles of Jesus' ministry, the 
raising of Lazarus, took place about this time. 

c. Approaching Jerusalem. The readiness of many to receive 
his message with gladness did not blind Jesus to the growing and 
deepening opposition to him on the part of influential parties among 
the Jews. The chief priests, Sadducees, joined hands with the 
Pharisees in this opposition. With a clear recognition of the conse- 
quences involved, Jesus steadfastly set his face to go up to Jeru- 
salem. On the way he told his perplexed and amazed disciples that 
the inevitable end would be his death by crucifixion. At Bethany he 
gratefully accepted an expression of self-sacrificing devotion from 
Mary as an anointing of his body for death. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 123 

(5) The Passion Week. 

a. The Triumphal Entry. This was Jesus' public proclamation 
of Messiahship. Before this he had carefully refrained from such 
an announcement. But the time had come when he desired it to be 
understood that he was the Christ, and to this end he carefully- 
planned the fulfillment of a distinctly understood Messianic prophecy, 
and accepted from the people Messianic titles. The triumphal entry 
probably took place on Sunday, the first day of the week. 

b. Open Conflict with the Jewish Rulers. On the following 
day Jesus again asserted his royal authority by cleansing the temple. 
This was succeeded on Tuesday by open conflict. Jesus boldly de- 
clared to the Jewish rulers that they fought against the Lord. 
His warnings and the condemnation of their evil course only inten- 
sified their enmity and deepened their determination to take his 
life. Probably on the evening of this very day the conspiracy was 
entered into between the chief priests and Judas for his arrest. 
Wednesday was spent, it is thought, at Bethany in quiet retreat 
with his friends. On the evening of Thursday the Last Supper was 
celebrated, and the Master, in anticipation of what was about to 
take place, spoke his farewell messages of instruction and consola- 
tion to his own. 

c. Arrest^ Trial, and Death. During that same night, Jesus was 
taken, through the treachery of one of the twelve, and led, bound 
for trial, first to the Jewish Sanhedrin, then to Pilate, the Roman 
procurator of Judaea. The charges brought against him were that 
he had blasphemed by calling himself the Son of God, and that he 
was a traitor to Rome because he claimed to be a king. Pilate was 
disposed to dismiss the charges and to release Jesus; but, influenced 
by the insistent and angry demand of the mob, led by the chief 
priests, he cowardly delivered him to their will, consenting to his 
crucifixion. The turbulence of the mob and the cupidity of the 
favor-seeking ofiicial are strikingly indicated by Luke's statement : 
"They were urgent with loud voices, asking that he might be cruci- 
fied. And their voices prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that 
what they asked should be done. . . . Jesus he delivered up to 
their will" (Luke 23. 23-24). 

The sentence of Pilate was carried out with unseemly haste. Be- 
fore the setting of Friday's sun the greatest tragedy of the world's 
history had been enacted and the dead body of the Man of Galilee 
lay in the rock-hewn tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. 

d. The Resurrection. It remained for the guilty conspirators 
themselves to give largest credence to the declaration of Jesus that 



124 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

he would rise again. While his disciples in sorrow and despair dis- 
persed to their former homes, the chief priests and the Pharisees 
were using every means to make sure his tomb. But his spirit could 
not be bound, and when, at the dawn of Sunday, woman's devotion 
led two on love's errand of ministry to a dead body, they found an 
empty tomb. Jesus had risen from the dead. 
(6) The Forty Days. 

a. The Appearances of Jesus After His Resurrection. Jesus 
appeared to his disciples on several occasions, at intervals, during a 
period of forty days. At these times he reassured their faith in 
him as the Christ, declared to them that it was inevitable that he 
should be rejected, should suffer, and should rise again, and gave 
to them the great commission of world evangelization, promising 
them his presence and his Spirit's power in its fulfillment. 

b. The Ascension. Finally, at Bethany, he departed from his 
disciples in bodily presence, having given to them his benediction, 
and having received from them their adoration as their Master and 
Lord. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Matthew in thirty-two places uses the term kingdom 
of heaven. Is this used in any of the other Gospels? What 
is the parallel term commonly used by the other evangelists ? 

2. By the aid of a Harmony of the Gospels, if one is any- 
where available for your use, make a list of (a) the events 
in Jesus' life, (b) the parables, and (c) the great passages 
in the discourses of Jesus which are found only in Mat- 
thew's Gospel. 

3. Read in turn several chapters in Mark and in John, 
then, laying aside all books, write a brief statement on the 
likenesses and differences which you noticed in their method 
of presentation. 

4. Read as much of the Gospel of Mark as your time per- 
mits and insert in the account, in their proper places, divi- 
sions and subdivisions of the life of Jesus as given in the 
Lesson Statement. 

5. Write out briefly an account of the trial of Jesus. 

IIL MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

I. Principal periods in the life of Jesus: (i) Birth and 
Early Life; (2) Opening Events of His Ministry; (3) The 
Galilaean Ministry; (4) The Persean Ministry; (5) The 
Passion Week; (6) The Forty Days, 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 125 

2. Subdivisions of the First Period: a. Birth and Infancy; 
b. Childhood and Youth. 

3. Subdivisions of the Second Period: a. The Ministry 
of John the Baptist; b. The Baptism and Temptation; c. 
First Followers and the Early Judsean Ministry. 

4. Subdivisions of the Third Period : a. Beginnings in 
GaHlee and First Opposition ; b. Choosing of the Twelve 
and Sermon on the Mount ; c. Spreading the Gospel through- 
out Galilee ; d. The Crisis in Galilee ; e. The Final Period 
of the Galilsean Ministry. 

5. Subdivisions of the Fourth Period: a. The Rapid 
Round of Events; b. Teaching throughout Persea; c. 
Approaching Jerusalem. 

6. Subdivisions of the Fifth Period : a. The Triumphal 
Entry ; b. Open Conflict with the Jewish Rulers ; c. Arrest, 
Trial, and Death ; d. The Resurrection. 

7. Subdivisions of the Sixth Period : a. The Appearances 
of Jesus after His Resurrection; b. The Ascension. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

In what sense are the Gospels not biographies? 
In accord with what purpose does Matthew select his material? 
Give the leading characteristics of Mark's Gospel. 

Give reasons why Luke's Gospel is more truly a biography than others 
Describe the general character of the fourth Gospel as a biography. 
When and where was Jesus born? 
What do we know of his childhood? 
Tell about the ministry of John the Baptist. 
Why are the baptism and the temptation so closely related? 
What were the principal opening events of Jesus' ministry? 
Narrate the facts concerning the beginnings in Galilee. 
How were the twelve apostles chosen? 
• Give particulars concerning the spread of the gospel throughout Galilee, 
What brought on the crisis in Galilee? 

What is to be said about the chronology of Jesus' ministry? ' 
Characterize the Peraean ministry. 
What was the significance of the triumphal entry? 
Describe the conflict with the Jewish rulers. 
What charges were preferred against Jesus? 
Explain how the condemnation of Jesus was brought about. 
Give the principal facts concerning the resurrection and the events of the forty days. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. Characteristics of Matthew's Gospel. 
' D.C. p. 62off. H.D. p. 5922. 

2. The Aim and Character of Luke's Gospel. 

D.C. p. 73Sf. H.D.p. 5S9«. 

3. The Early Life of Jesus. 

1 D.C. p. Ixxiv2. H.D. p. 446". 

4. The Mighty Works of Jesus. 

D.C. p. cxvff. H.D. 449(ii). 

5. The Training of the Twelve. 

H.D. p. 449 (iii). 

6. The Trial of Jesus. 

D.C. pp. 713-716. H.D. p. 4SS(i), (ii), (iil). 



126 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE GOSPEL OF A DIVINE PERSON 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. THE REVELATION OF A LIFE 

The Gospels furnish us more than a bare record of facts in the 
life of Jesus. They present us a picture of one who was in him- 
self a divine revelation. We see in them the glory of God shining 
in the face of Jesus Christ. 

The gospel contained in the New Testament is the gospel of a 
Divine Person. The unique aspect of the gospel is not to be seen 
in the teaching of Jesus — supremely important as that teaching is. 
There had been other great religious teachers before him ; many of 
the things which he said others before him had said. It n signifi- 
cant that, so far as we know, Jesus did not give direction to his 
disciples to record his sayings. The great contribution of the gospel 
to religion is the personality of the historical Jesus. The revelation 
of God to the world was in the Person of Jesus Christ. 

His words were the truth of God to men, but the deeper fact is 
that he himself was the truth. "The words of Christ were so com- 
pletely parts and utterances of himself that they had no meaning as 
abstract statements of truth uttered by him as a divine organ or 
prophet. Take away himself as the primary (though not ultimate) 
subject of every statement, and they all fall to pieces. Take away 
their cohesion with his acts and his whole known person and pres- 
ence, and they lose their power," ^ 

The apostle John was profoundly right when he made his Gospel 
a presentation of the character, the mind, the nature of Jesus. He 
was not so much interested in reporting about Jesus as in reveal- 
ing to us his personality. To him Jesus himself was more than 
his words. He saw in him the Supreme Word of God. The words 
which he spoke were but broken fragments compared to the perfect 
utterance of his Person. 

The Synoptic writers shared this feeling, as we realize when we 
recall that they sketch for us the activities of Jesus quite as fully 



iHort, The Way, the Truth and the Life, p. 207. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 127 

as they record his words. To all of the evangelists Jesus' associa- 
tion with publicans and sinners, for example, spoke a not less mean- 
ingful message than the parables, and his submission to suffering 
and death was far more significant than his spoken words about 
sin. 

In all of this the disciples followed the example of their Master. 
For Jesus, we must remember, offered himself to men, "He himself 
was the central word of his own preaching. He offered himself to 
the world as the solution of its difficulties and the source of a new 
life. He asked men simply to believe in him, to love him, to follow 
him. . . . To those who became his disciples he gave doctrine and 
instruction in many things. But to those who were not yet his dis- 
ciples, to the world, he offered first of all himself, not a doctrine, 
not a plan of life, but a living Person. . . . Christ was his own 
Christianity. Christ was the core of his own Gospel." ^ 

So we should study the Gospels not merely to familiarize our- 
selves with the historical outline of the life of Jesus, or with his 
teachings ; we should study them as the Portrait of Jesus Christ, 
as revealing to us the Divine Person, and as seeking to know what 
it was that Jesus in himself showed to the world. Within the limits 
of a single chapter we can call attention to a few lines only in the 
picture. 

2. WHAT THE GOSPEL PICTURE REVEALS 

(i) A Loving, Saving God. Jesus repeatedly declared his one- 
ness with God. When Philip said to him, "Show us the Father and 
it sufficeth us," Jesus replied : "Have I been so long time with you 
and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me 
hath seen the Father. How sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" 
(John 14. 8-g.) Jesus thus declared that what he was, God is; in 
him the nature of God is revealed. In his life is the sure proof that 
God is, and the plain demonstration of what God is. 

Says Stevens : "Jesus' doctrine of God is to be derived, therefore, 
not merely from what he said about God, but from what he did and 
was. He is himself the revelation of God, the interpretation of God 
to man. His life is the self-utterance of God in history. He is the 
true, living Word of God, the image, the expression of Deity whereby 
we learn most of the nature and feelings toward us of the infinite 
and invisible God. He reveals God's fatherly qualities by exhibiting 
toward men a more than human compassion and tenderness, and 
by himself living, in his relation to God, a perfectly filial life, thus 



*Van Dyke, The Gospel for an Age of Doubt, pp. 60, 61, 62. 



128 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

showing man how to be certain of God's fatherhood by himself 
living as a son of God." ^ 

The early church saw God in Jesus. This was their certain and 
steadfast conviction. In giving expression to the conviction they 
made use of many different terms. They said he was the express 
image of his Person, the uttered reason of God, the first born or 
only begotten Son of God, the outshining of the divine majesty. 
These terms were used, not as definitions of the relations between 
God and Jesus, nor as descriptions of the constitution of Jesus' 
person, but as telling what Jesus was to them. With a like reli- 
gious faith we may go to the gospel picture of Jesus to see for our- 
selves God there revealed to us. Our revelation comes mainly, not 
by taking over the terms used by other ages, now become crystallized 
into hard, changeless forms, but by following the example of those 
early disciples — going to the gospel portrait with open minds and 
trusting hearts and allowing it to speak its message directly to us. 

How wonderfully the compassion and love of God are shown in 
the love of Jesus for men ! How strangely mingled are pity for the 
sinner and condemnation for his sin ! How ceaseless the efforts for 
the alleviation of human ills ! What joy and blessing invariably flow 
out of the Divine presence ! How uniformly beneficent are all his 
acts ! How more than sufficient for all possible human needs the 
goodness of God is seen to be ! How near is God brought to men, 
and how free is access to him shown to be ! 

But just as it is true that the revelation of Jesus Is not fully or 
perfectly expressed in his words alone, so is it also true that the 
revelation of his Person cannot be adequately described by others 
in words. Newman Smyth has said : "No rich personality has ever 
yet put itself wholly into speech." To which we add, Nor is it 
within the power of others' words to give it complete expression. 
We may believe that even the Gospels fall short of fully showing 
forth his glory. Nevertheless if one goes in the right spirit to the 
Gospels and there remains in earnest contemplation, he will behold 
a new and personal revelation, the unveiling of the face of God, the 
making clear of the countenance of the heavenly Father. 

(2) A Victorious Human Life, If Jesus was the revelation of 
God to man, he was scarcely less the revelation of man to himself. 
We see him living a life subject to all the limitations under which 
other men lived, yet manifesting none of their weaknesses or short- 
comings. How humble and poor and mean his life was, measured 



' ^The Teaching of Jesus, pp. 80-81. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 129 

by the standards of our time. The conveniences and luxuries so 
essential to our well-being and happiness, as we think, were all 
strange to him. He was hedged about with restrictions which would 
be exceedingly irksome to a modern man. He was misunderstood 
by his kinsfolk and nearest friends; rejected by the nation whose 
greatest prophet he was; unjustly persecuted by those in power; 
deserted by those who had sworn eternal allegiance to him, and 
finally subjected to the most ignominious death known to the legal 
authorities of the times in which he lived, and through the whole 
terrible shameful course by not so much as a word, gesture, or look, 
did he commit that for which he could be censured by the keenest 
critic. In amazement and wonder well may we exclaim, "Behold the 
man !" 

Ponder Sidney Lanier's tribute : 

. . . "All, all I pardon, ere 'tis asked, 
Your more or less, your little mole that marks 
You brother and your kinship seals to man. 

But thee, but thee, O sovereign seer of time, 

But thee, O poet's poet, wisdom's tongue. 

But thee, O man's best man, O love's best love, 

O perfect life in perfect labor writ, 

O all men's comrade, servant, king, or priest — 

What if or yet, what mole, what flaw, what lapse. 

What least defect or shadow of defect, 

What rumor, tattled by an enemy. 

Of inference loose, what lack of grace 

Even in torture's grasp, or sleep's or death's — 

Oh, what amiss may I forgive in thee, 

Jesus, good Paragon, thou Crystal Christ?" 

What a revelation of the moral possibilities of human nature is 
here. Jesus declares that he lives the overcoming life by virtue of 
union with God ; he invites men to share his life and the life of 
God (John 6. 56-58; 14. 23. Cf. also Gal. 2. 20). What he is, man 
ought to be, and by his help may be. 

(3) The Power of Death Overcome. The resurrection of Jesus 
is to be distinguished from all other cases of resurrection. Laz- 
arus, for example, was raised from the dead to continue his former 
mode of existence. Jesus did not rise from the grave with his 
former body, merely to continue the life he had previously lived. In 
his resurrection mortality was swallowed up of life ; it was the 
revelation of a victorious spiritual life. It is just this unique quality 
of Christ's resurrection which gives to it its significance as a revela- 
tion of immortality. 



130 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

To Paul, as doubtless to the other apostles, the value of the resur- 
rection as a revelation can scarcely be overestimated. For him 
Christianity and the resurrection of Jesus stand or fall together. 
"If Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your 
faith also is vain." (i Cor. 15. 14.) The pages of the New Testa- 
ment bear evidence that the resurrection was a revelation with 
power to the scattered and dismayed disciples. The death of Jesus 
left the disciples oppressed with gloom, well-nigh overcome with 
mingled stupefaction, sense of defeat, hopelessness, and despair. The 
resurrection worked a marvelous change in their spirit. It turned 
mourning into joy, despair into courage, darkness into day; it 
changed to their eyes the whole aspect of life and death, of the 
world that is and of that which is to come. A revelation, indeed, 
was the event -which intervened between the blank despair of the 
day of crucifixion and the exultant joy and courageous boldness of 
Pentecost and succeeding days. 

What the resurrection was to the first disciples it ought to be to 
the disciples of to-day. For us it brings life and immortality to 
light. For us as for them it is the crowning revelation, as it is the 
supreme miracle, of the gospel. 

(4) A Living, Ruling Christ. The last impression of Jesus to 
be gained from the Gospels is that of a Triumphant Christ. The 
teaching of Jesus comes to us as a voice out of the past; Jesus him- 
self lives and reigns as the Lord and Saviour of men. "Christ is not 
merely the world's most glorious memory. He is also its soul, and 
its salvation." * 

The manifestation of Christ to Saul transformed him into a 
Christian apostle. Certain facts stand out clear and indisputable on 
the pages of the historical account. He who had been a persecutor 
was suddenly transformed into a believer. From that hour to the 
hour of his death he never ceased to believe and to declare that the 
living, ruling Christ had appeared to him. Previously he had had 
no suspicion that Christian believers were in the right. He had 
not believed in the resurrection. It was the appearance of Jesus to 
him which convicted him of the error of his ways and convinced him 
that Jesus was risen from the dead as the Christ of God. By the 
revelation he who had been the arch enemy of the church was trans- 
formed into its chief apostle — the devoted advocate, slave, and 
martyr of the Christ. This experience was to be the forerunner of 
many others similar to it. "The experience has been repeated and 



'Nicoll, The Church's^One Foundation, p. 172, 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 131 

testified to by countless millions of civilized men and women in all 
nations and of all degrees of culture. It signifies not whether the 
conversion be sudden or gradual. ... In all cases it is not a mere 
change of belief or opinion : this is by no means the point ; the point 
is that it is a modification of character, more or less profound." ^ 

Jesus thus reveals himself to believers from the first century 
down to this present day as the Christ of experience, who ever lives 
to sympathize with, aid, and deliver those who put their trust in 
him. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Verify from your own reading of the Gospels the 
statement that Jesus offered himself to men. Give refer- 
ences. 

2. Name some attributes of God revealed in the life and 
deeds of Jesus. 

3. Quote some of Jesus' words which show that he ex- 
pected men to live as he lived. 

4. Frame a statement of your own on the significance of 
the resurrection to the Christian believer. 

5. What do you understand to be meant by "the Christ 
of experience"? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

Learn "The Crystal Christ," quoted in the Lesson State- 
ment. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What is the unique contribution of the Gospels to religion? 

What is to be said about John's presentation of the life of Jesus? 

To what extent do the other evangelists share his view? 

Give the substance of the quotation from Van Dyke. 

What should be the supreme object of our study of the Gospels? 

How can we discover Jesus' doctrine of God? 

What was the chief significance of the terms which the early church applied to Jesus? 

Tell of some of the attributes of God shown in the gospel picture. 

Can anyone Impart the gospel revelation of God to another in words? 

What is to be said of the revelation of the human life of Jesus? 

What was the unique quality of Jesus' resurrection? 

How did Paul estimate the importance of the resurrection? 

In what way is the Christian revelation a present revelation? 

What can you say of the revelation through the Christ of experience? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Character of Jesus. 

H.D. p. 458i8ff. 

2. The Revelation of Life. 

H.D. p. 7960. 

3. Significance of the Resurrection. 

H.D. p. 458(6). D.C. p. cxxviio. 



^Romanes, Thoughts on Religion, p. i62f. 



132 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE TEACHING OF JESUS 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

Jesus Is the great primary source of Christian truth. He is the 
teacher of the ages. Jesus and the truth he taught were one. The 
gospel was first given spoken utterance in his words. How im- 
portant, then, that we give earnest study to his teaching. 

Of all topics of study for religious teachers that of surpassing 
importance is the subject-matter and the method of Jesus' teach- 
ing. Many other studies are important and have their place, but this 
is greatest of them all. Strange to say, it has been sadly overlooked; 
by many passed over without notice. 

I. THE METHOD OF STUDY 

There are two principal ways in which the teaching of Jesus may 
be studied. It may be studied genetically; that is, in the order of 
its development. It should be clearly recognized that Jesus' teach- 
ing was conditioned by the historical circumstances under which it 
was given. He began by taking up the message of John the Baptist 
and gradually, as it became possible, unfolded and amplified his first 
declarations. It has been already noticed that, at the beginning of 
his ministry, he said very little about himself. Later, he revealed 
to his disciples, little by little, the truth concerning himself, and 
finally, as we have seen, publicly declared his Messiahship. Con- 
sideration will make plain, in view of these facts, that the genetic 
study of the teaching of Jesus is a very important method. A 
second, and somewhat simpler way, is to gather up from the differ- 
ent Gospels what he said on certain principal subjects. It will be 
necessary for us to confine our study of his teaching in this chapter 
to this latter method; also, to limit ourselves to a very few chief 
subjects. 

Once the method is made clear, it is entirely possible for the 
Bible student to proceed by himself to study the teaching of Jesus 
with great profit. The Master taught much in parable and in short 
aphoristic sayings. It should not be inferred, however, because 
some of his teachings are difficult, and have been variously ex- 
plained, and call for earnest thought in understanding them, that the 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 133 

study must be reserved for people of great learning. A spiritual 
intuition, begotten of love for the Lord and a desire to obey his will, 
often leads the way unerringly into the light, where cold, unsympa- 
thetic learning gropes blindly in darkness. " 'The common people 
heard him gladly,' and he thanked God that the great mysteries were 
hidden from the wise and prudent and revealed to babes. Sympathy 
with the spirit of Christ is the secret of understanding his teaching. 
But this sympathy must induce a careful thoughtful study of his 
words if their true meaning is to be discovered ; and it will do so if 
it is genuine and deep." ^ 

2. SOME PRINCIPAL SUBJECTS OF JESUS' TEACHING 

(i) The Kingdom of God. 

a. The Messianic Hope. A necessary presupposition of an intelli- 
gent stud}^ of Jesus' teaching of the kingdom of God is an under- 
standing of the Messianic conceptions which played so large a part 
in the current Jewish history. The beginnings of the Messianic hope 
antedated Israel's existence as a nation. The people believed that 
they were the predestined conquerors and rulers of mankind. Dur- 
ing the later centuries of their history, in spite of the prolonged and 
bitter subjection to foreign domination, this national hope persisted. 
It also gradually became personalized. The triumphant kingdom 
was to be realized through the advent and reign of the Messianic 
king. The earliest Pharisees looked for a Messiah who should 
purify the already existing state and reestablish it by miraculous 
means. The Pharisees of Jesus' day held that deliverance was to 
come directly from heaven with manifestations of heavenly glory 
and splendor and the exhibition of miraculous power. The Zealots 
advocated warfare as a means of establishing the Kingdom and 
looked for the Messiah to arise as a man of war. Thus the whole 
atmosphere of the times was charged with conflicting ideas, hopes, 
and fears concerning the Messiah and his kingdom. 

b. Teaching Concerning the Kingdom. Jesus began his min- 
istry with the proclamation, *'The time is fulfilled and the kingdom 
of God is at hand." The prominence thus given to the idea of the 
Kingdom at the very beginning of his ministry was continued until 
its close. It was a dominant note of his teaching. The King- 
dom, he declared, is divine in origin. It is the rule of God in the 
hearts and lives of men. Its law is the will of God. It is at the 
same time a spiritual society, that is, a body of people with whom 



^How to Read the Bible, W. F. Adeney, p. iii. 



134 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

the rule ha-s to do, who possess certain qualities of mind and 
heart because they have made God and his will supreme. It is 
not to be identified with any existing society or temporal rule ; it 
is of those who manifest the true characteristics of children of God, 
and 'for them it has been prepared. Neither nationality nor out- 
ward condition confers membership, nor can they debar from it. 
It is already present among men. It cometh not with observation. 
Places of honor in it are not to be arbitrarily assigned; the highest 
place shall be to him that serves most, and he that humbleth him- 
self shall be most highly exalted. Though it may seem small and 
insignificant now, it will grow and increase until it shall fill the 
whole earth. (Cf. the following: Mark i. 15; Matt. 5. 3-13; 7. 21; 
Luke 17. 20, 21; Matt. 20. 26, 27; Matt. 4. 26-29.) 

The Kingdom thus proclaimed by Jesus, and of which late in 
his ministry he declared himself to be the King, the Messiah, was 
radically different from that which the people of his day looked for. 
Its glory was of an entirely different order from that for which they 
longed. He was not the kind of Messiah for whom they were look- 
ing. They had little appreciation of his spiritual message, and no 
patience with his declarations of Messiahship. 

(2) The Heavenly Father. Jesus spoke of God as our heavenly 
Father. This was the designation which he preferred above others. 
In his teaching, Father takes the place which the name Jehovah had 
occupied in the Old Testament. The name was not new ; it occurs 
in the Old Testament, but there God is presented as Father in the 
sense of being the protecting God of Israel and the Father of the 
Messianic King. In the teaching of Jesus, God sustains the relation 
of Father to individual men. He is "my Father" and "your Father." 
The Old Testament had taught that "it is he who hath made us and 
not we ourselves," and that we are made in his image. These teach- 
ings are not specifically set forth by Jesus, but they are implicit in 
his teaching. God is the loving heavenly Father. His love is uni- 
versal and extends even to the unthankful and the evil. He is not 
grudging nor partial in his love ; it is a full and overflowing affection, 
holy and benevolent. It is also a compassionate pitying love; by 
virtue of it the Father is graciously disposed to forgive his children's 
offenses. The Father provides for the wants of his children, dis- 
ciplines them, is ever ready to hear their prayers, and promises to 
answer those who call upon him. He has an inheritance reserved 
for all who are loyal and obedient. While teaching the Fatherhood 
of God, Jesus also taught that God is a king, all powerful and all 
wise, perfectly righteous, stern in his judgment on all evil doing and 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 135 

iniquity. (Cf. the following: Matt. 5. 16, 43-48; 6. 1-18, 26-34; 

7. 7-12; Luke 15; 18. 1-8; 12. 32.) 

(3) The Son of Man and the Son of God. The teaching of 
Jesus concerning himself is to be found chiefly in the use of titles 
which he applied to himself and accepted from others. The self- 
designation which occurs most frequently in the Gospels is the Son 
of man. Jesus seemed to prefer that to any other title. It is a 
term which occurs somewhat often in the Old Testament, but almost 
never after the close of the ministry of Jesus. It is not easy to de- 
termine just what Jesus meant to express by it. It may point to his 
complete identification with humanity and designate him as the 
representative man. It may emphasize the lowliness and humility 
of his earthly estate and point toward his humiliation and death. 
It may have been used as a Messianic title, chosen because it was 
not current as such in his own day, yet recognized to have definite 
Messianic associations in its Old Testament usage. 

A second title which Jesus used as applied to himself and accepted 
from others as applicable to himself was the Son of God. This was 
clearly and definitely known as a Messianic title. Jesus used it not 
so much in an official sense, as a description of a personal relation- 
ship. He spoke of others as "children of God," "sons of the Father," 
but he did not place the sonship of himself and of other men on an 
equality. His sonship was unique. At no time did he explain it; 
but what was better, he constantly illustrated it. What we see in 
his life is a perfect fellowship and union with God, a full under- 
standing and knowledge of God, and uninterrupted communion with 
God. 

These two titles are perhaps best used interchangeably, or taken 
together. Thus used, they signify that in Jesus there is humanity 
in all its realness, and in him also divinity in all its realness, and 
the two are not separated, but united. He is the Son of man and 
the Son of God. He is at once the interpretation of man to him- 
self and the interpretation of God to man. He represents what God 
is and what man may become. (Cf. the following: Mark 2. 10, 28; 

8. 31; 9. 11; 10. 45; 14. 13; Matt. 8. 20; 25. 31; Luke 19. 10; Matt. 
3. 17; 8. 29; 16. 16; 26. 63; 27. 54.) 

(4) Man. A fundamental element in Jesus' teaching is his recog- 
nition of the inherent worth of man. This is made manifest not so 
much in an estimate of human nature in the abstract, or of men in a 
lump, as in his valuation of individual men. True, speaking in 
general terms, he declared the soul to be beyond all price, of so great 
value as not to be possible of measurement by material standards. 



136 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

But the estimate thus expressed is the more strikingly set forth in 
Jesus' valuation of individual men and women. The social waste of 
his day was infinitely precious in his sight. He interpreted his mis- 
sion in terms of saving the lost; he called Levi, the publican, to 
discipleship and justified the act by saying, "I came not to call the 
righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2. 13-17.) 

Jesus saw clearly the sinfulness of men, but he never lost sight of 
the man beneath his sin. He believed in the recoverableness of 
men. He saw a spark of goodness even in the worst of men, and 
declared that there was forgiveness for the vilest. He refused to 
recognize the social standards of the time. He condemned no man 
because of outward condition or circumstances. 

Jesus found the sum of human duty expressed in the Old Testa- 
ment command to love God with the whole heart and one's neighbor 
as himself. Love he declared to be the fulfilling of the law. Love 
is the true righteousness. He taught that sonship to God is to be 
realized in the life of love ; that "love is godlikeness, and therefore 
the principle of the perfect life." But the love of which he spoke 
is not passive ; it is not a sentiment merely ; it "is an energetic power 
which sets all the faculties of the soul in vigorous operation. If 
men truly love God, they will do his will." (Stevens.) His dis- 
ciples are laborers, servants, stewards. (Cf. the following: Luke 
9. 25; Matt. ID. 31; 12. 12; Luke 19. i-io.) 

(5) Sin. Jesus was tremendously concerned about the sin of 
men. He realized, as none other ever had, its soul-blighting, soul- 
destroying character, and he dealt with it unsparingly. He makes 
no allusion to the genesis of sin. He is not concerned with its origin, 
but with its effects in human life. He deals with it concretely. He 
points to specific things and declares them wrong. He does more — 
he gets behind the outward acts and finds their cause in an evil heart. 
From within, out of the heart of man, sins proceed. The sin con- 
sists not in the outward act, but in the state of the heart. The evil 
word, the wicked act, is simply an index of the inner state. It is 
by reason of this that they are made the basis of judgment. In the 
last analysis a man will be justified or condemned because of what 
he is in his inner life. For this reason outward acts which seem 
praiseworthy, may purchase condemnation, and deeds which seem 
wholly evil may not be severely judged. God looks beyond the 
act to the motive which inspired it. In his sight nothing is truly 
good which is not the expression of a good will, and nothing evil 
which does not spring from an evil purpose. Sin, therefore, in 
its essence, is a perversion of the will, a corruption of the affections. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 137 

Men are lost because of their own choice; they have chosen evil 
rather than good ; they have strayed out of the right relation 
with God; they have intentionally missed the true goal of human 
endeavor. There is a glorious destiny for men, but sin turns 
them from the path. It is their own fault. What of those who, 
because of their sins, do not attain? Jesus' language is exceed- 
ingly strong. Sin is punished, both in this life and that which 
is to come. Gehenna is the word he used. It was the name 
of a place outside of the walls of Jerusalem where the refuse was 
thrown and burned. The language is figurative, but at the same 
time it is descriptive of suffering and misery of an intense form. 

Jesus specifically condemned certain sins. Almost all may be 
divided into three principal classes : a. Sins of the flesh and the 
sensual mind, as fornication, adultery, lasciviousness ; b. Sins grow- 
ing out of attitude toward other men, as thefts, covetousness, un- 
mercifulness, hatred, retaliation and resentment, refusal to forgive; 
c. Sins connected with attitude toward truth and toward God, as 
untruthfulness, utterance of evil or empty words, refusal to accept 
truth, hypocrisy, ingratitude, self-exaltation, blasphemy. 

He was strenuous in exhorting men to turn away from sin. He 
commanded men to repent. Repentance as he used it involved the 
whole personality, intellect, emotion, and will ; it is a change in the 
attitude of the heart, an abandonment of the evil purpose, and is 
manifested by turning the back on the evil and setting the face 
toward the good. (Cf. the following: Matt. 5. 21, 22, 27, 28; 
7. 17-20; 12. zyzi', Mark 7. 20-23; 9- 4.3-48.) 

(6) Deliverance. The invitation of Jesus to men was most 
often expressed in the words, "Follow me." It was an invitation 
to discipleship, to become learners. He taught the way to God in 
truth ; men were to learn it of him. It was an invitation to accept 
his personal leadership, to be guided by him. He had the secret 
of eternal life — men were to share it with him by being led of 
him. 

The conditions of deliverance from sin Jesus frequently declared 
to be repentance and faith; repentance would be rewarded by for- 
giveness, faith by the gift of life. When sin is renounced and for- 
saken, God forgives; that is, he reestablishes a filial relation, takes 
the repentant 'one into fellowship with himself. Faith, in the teach- 
ing of Jesus, like love, is not passive, but active. It shows itself in 
conduct. To have faith that God is what Jesus proclaimed him to 
be, and that he will do for man what Jesus declared he would, 
means to go forth into the ordinary avenues of life and live as Jesus 



138 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

lived. He who thus makes the life and teachings of Jesus control- 
ling in his life will experience new impulses and powers which will 
be to him the assurance of union with God. The new life which he 
is thus enabled to live is eternal life. 

In the Gospels a saving significance is attached to the entire min- 
istry of Jesus. A part of his mission was to preach good tidings and 
to teach men the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Men 
were to be the beneficiaries of his personal example and influence. 
His teaching took its highest significance from what he was. Fi- 
nally, a special meaning and value attached to his death. He laid 
stress by frequent repetition upon the declaration that sacrifice was a 
fundamental law of the Kingdom. Those who would be his disciples 
must be prepared to suffer for his sake. He himself was not 
exempt from this law. Loyalty to the truth which he proclaimed 
led toward the cross. It was the Father's will that he should suffer, 
and he would not save himself. Moreover, his death would avail 
much. His blood was shed for the advantage of many ; it was to 
be the blood of the new covenant, shed for many unto the remis- 
sion of sins. Further than to state thus that his death was to have 
saving power the teaching of Jesus does not go. His words do not 
state explicitly why or how his death should possess such potency. 
Answers to these questions have been given in various and divergent 
forms by theologians, and on the basis of these answers Christians 
have been divided into widely separated and often hostile camps. 
We cannot do better than to take the simple statements of Jesus at 
their face value and be content without seeking the answer to ques- 
tions about his death which he left unanswered. (Cf. the follow- 
ing: Mark i. 17; 2. 14; i. 15; Matt. 11. 5, 28; 8. 31; Mark 8. 33-35; 
10. 42-45; 14. 24; Matt. 26. 28.)^ 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Read the parables found in Matt. 13. 1-53. State as 
well as you can in a sentence or two the teaching of each. 

2. Why did Jesus use parables? Study Mark 4. 10-12; 
Matt. 13. 10-16. Compare also Mark 4. 21, 22, 33, 34, and 
Matt. 13. 34, 35. Be prepared to give an answer to the 
question. 

3. Bring together all you can find in the Gospels about 
little children; then write a statement of Jesus' teaching 
concerning childhood. 

'On the general content of this chapter compare Stevens, The Teaching of Jesus, 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 139 

4, Cite as many passages from the Gospels as you can 
which show Jesus' estimate of the worth of man. 

5. Read Mark 7. 1-23. Sum up in a few words the teach- 
ing of this passage concerning sin. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

Review the Memory Assignment of Chapter XVI. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Give reasons why we should study the teaching of Jesus. 

Name and explain two methods of studying the teaching of Jesus. 

What are the most necessary presuppositions of understanding the teaching of Jesus? 

Tell what you can concerning the development of the Messianic hope. 

What did Jesus mean by the kingdom of God? 

Why did this teaching bring him into conflict with the Pharisees? 

What did Jesus teach us about God? 

What is the significance of the title Son of man? Of Son of God? 

Tell what you can of the content of Jesus's teaching concerning man. 

What did Jesus teach about sin? 

What did it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? 

State and explain the conditions of deliverance from sin as given by Jesus, 

What did Jesus teach concerning his death? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Teaching of Jesus. 

H.D. p. 46o'7. D.C. p. Ixxix. 

2. The Kingdom of God. 

1 H.D. p. 46o\ D.C. p. 621(5), 637- 

3. The Fatherhood of God. 

H.D. p. 461(1). D.C. p. Ixxixi. 

4. Man. 

H.D. p. 574. 

5. Sin. 

H.D. p. 8s9iii^3. 

6. The Death of Christ. 

H.D. p. 721. D.C. p. cxxviilflE. 



140 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XIX 
THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH 

L LESSON STATEMENT 

I. THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH 

Beyond appointing twelve men as apostles to be the recognized 
representatives and exponents of the gospel, Jesus took no steps 
toward effecting an organization. He attracted followers, who were 
baptized as a mark of discipleship, instructed and trained them, sent 
them forth on short tours of evangelization, and finally, just before 
his ascension, gave them their commission of world evangelism ; 
but so far as we have record in the New Testament, he instituted 
no formal organization. It is probable that neither the apostles nor 
the larger body of disciples realized fully what was involved in their 
call. The condemnation of Jesus by collusion of the ecclesiastical 
and secular authorities came as a terrific shock, for which they were 
unprepared, and when the sentence had been carried out, they were 
a scattered band of disappointed, discouraged, and confused people. 

The resurrection clarified their conception of Jesus and his king- 
dom, gave them an understanding of their mission, unified them as 
a group of Christian believers, and furnished them with their word 
of testimony to the world. Christianity as a distinct religion had its 
beginning when the disciples became convinced of the resurrection 
of Jesus. The Christian church was horn at the empty tomb of 
Jesus of Nazareth. When we pass from the Gospels to the Acts 
we are immediately aware of a change. In the first chapters of 
Acts we are in the presence of an organization, the church, and it is 
new. We have not met with it in the Gospels. 

We have no details of organization. There is no formal meet- 
ing such as we should expect. It seems probable that the conscious- 
ness that the apostolate and the brotherhood of believers constituted 
a distinct organization within Judaism came gradually to the partic- 
ipants during the forty days. At first it was a waiting church; 
along with the new consciousness of being there went a sense of 
unreadiness. The impetus for action came in the gift of the Spirit 
on the day of Pentecost. 

The term, the Apostolic Age of the Church is commonly used to 
designate the period begun at this time and terminating at about 



OF TEACHER TRAINING I4t 

the time of the death of Peter and Paul, the only two apostles of 
whose work we have any considerable knowledge. It thus covered 
a period of approximately thirty-five years. On the day of Pentecost 
120 believers were gathered together in Jerusalem. There were 
probably some faithful disciples not present there, how many we do 
not know. At the close of this first epoch in the life of the church 
companies of believers existed in thirty towns and cities named in 
the New Testament; besides, there were an indefinite number of 
churches the location of which is not known. 

2. THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM 

(i) The Book of Acts as History. The Book of Acts has the 
unique distinction of being the one purely historical book of the 
New Testament. Its purpose is to chronicle the main facts in the 
development of the movement inaugurated by Jesus, which took 
form after his resurrection in the organization of the church. The 
book divides naturally into two parts. The first part, chapters one 
to twelve, inclusive, is an account of the growth of the Church in 
Jerusalem, and from Jerusalem as a center. The central figure is 
the apostle Peter. A running account is given of the triumphant 
progress of the gospel in the face of opposition and persecution. 

The second part, chapters thirteen to twenty-eight, inclusive, is a 
description of the extension of the church throughout the empire 
through the labors of the apostle Paul. Antioch is the center, and 
while some others are mentioned incidentally, Paul is the chief 
figure. 

It will be seen from this that the book is not a complete account 
of the labors of all the apostles. It has sometimes been suggested 
that an appropriate title would be, "Some Acts of Some Apostles." 
There are some remarkable omissions, for example, the later 
ministry of Peter and the death of Paul. We long to know more 
about the ministry of John, and Matthew, and others of the apostles. 
There is abundant evidence that the writer gives an accurate ac- 
count of those matters which he treats. Expert testing of his state- 
ments, especially as regards geographical details, has testified to 
his exact knowledge. 

(2) Beginning from Jerusalem. The company of believers first 
met together for prayer. At one such meeting Peter proposed the 
selection of one to take the place in the apostolate left vacant by 
the treachery of Judas After prayer, Matthias was selected by lot. 
In the early morning of the day of Pentecost the Spirit came upon 
the assembled disciples. Peter was moved to preach to the multi- 



14^ FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

tude; following his sermon three thousand received baptism and 
joined themselves to the church. This was the beginning of con- 
tinuous growth. Peter and John were the chief leaders, with Peter 
usually the spokesman. Certain of their activities are recorded. 
Peter healed a lame man at the gate of the temple, preached to the 
people who were attracted by the incident, and on the following day 
defended his deed before the Jewish rulers. The enemies of the new 
faith were aroused by his deed, and opposition began to be mani- 
fested. 

As in the case of the Gospels, the author of Acts makes no attempt 
to give a complete account. Brief summary statements cover con- 
siderable periods of time. Occasional events deemed to be of special 
significance, as for example, the death of Ananias and Sapphira, 
are described with some detail. 

(3) Persecution and Its Effect. At first the Sadducees took 
the lead as persecutors. The preaching of the resurrection of Jesus 
offended them. They put forward their opposition under a cloak of 
pretended zeal for public order. 

In a first instance the apostles, after a public hearing, were com- 
manded to cease teaching in the name of Jesus, threatened, and dis- 
missed. On a second occasion, only the plea of Gamaliel intervened 
to prevent severe punishment. This initial persecution seems to 
have had but one effect, that of deepening the apostles' sense of 
obligation to declare their message. (Cf. Acts 3. 1-26; 4. 1-31 ; 

5. 17-42.) 

Stephen was a notable figure in the events of the early days of 
the church. He realized the universality of the gospel message and 
preached accordingly. The Pharisees were immediately aroused to 
intense opposition. They joined forces with the Sadducees and 
stirred up such violent enmity that Stephen was killed and the 
disciples were scattered abroad throughout Judaea and Samaria. This 
new martyrdom was to have an effect wholly unexpected by those 
responsible. The zeal of the Christians was only intensified by the 
violence of the opposition, and everywhere they went they preached 
the gospel with great earnestness. Very soon groups of believers 
were in existence in many different places, not only in Judsea, but in 
Samaria, Phoenicia, even as far distant as Cyprus and Antioch. 

Philip now comes into prominence in Luke's narrative. In 
Samaria he had immediate and far-reaching success (8. 4-25). A 
significant narrative is that of Philip's meeting with the Ethiopian 
as showing how Jewish proselytes received the gospel and carried it 
into foreign parts (8. 26-40). 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 143 

(4) The Gospel Declared to the Gentiles. Peter's visit to 
Caesarea precipitated two questions of immense importance to the 
future of the church, namely, the admissibility of Gentiles to the 
church, and the relation of the new faith to Judaism. Up to this 
time these questions had apparently not been suggested to the lead- 
ers. 

Peter's association with Jesus had evidently caused him to mini- 
mize the Levitical distinctions of which loyal Jews made so much, 
for at Joppa he lodged with a Jew who was a tanner, and, therefore, 
according to the law, unclean. While there, a vision came to him 
which he interpreted to mean that God wished him to disregard 
these distinctions which he had previously held to be sacred. He 
was prepared by the vision for the visit of Cornelius, a devout 
Gentile, whom he received hospitably. His declaration, made in 
the house of Cornelius, "Unto me hath God showed that I should 
not call any man common or unclean," was, from the standpoint of 
Judaism, a revolutionary doctrine. His course received a signal 
manifestation of the Divine approval. "The Holy Spirit fell on all 
them that heard the Word," and the Gentiles spoke "with tongues" 
and magnified God. The Jewish companions of Peter were amazed 
at these occurrences. Some probably doubted within themselves, 
but the spiritual manifestations were so indisputable that none ob- 
jected to Peter's course in baptizing those upon whom the Spirit had 
come. 

The report of Peter's course provoked much controversy at Jeru- 
salem. Probably at first many did not understand the reason for this 
disregard of Jewish law and custom. When he had fully related the 
circumstances, the objections were, for the time being, at least, 
silenced. Some liberal spirits rejoiced that "to the Gentiles also 
hath God granted repentance unto life" (11. 1-18). But with many 
Jewish ceremonial beliefs and prejudices were exceedingly deep- 
seated, and this question of the call of the Gentiles and the condi- 
tions under which they should be admitted to the church became the 
subject of prolonged and serious controversy. 

3. THE CHURCH OF THE EMPIRE 

The gospel found a ready response in Antioch, especially among 
the Gentiles. When the leaders at Jerusalem were informed of the 
large ingathering, Barnabas was sent forth to minister to the con-> 
verts. Barnabas immediately went to Tarsus, where he enlisted the 
aid of Paul. For a year these two gave themselves to the instruc- 
tion and nurture of the young Gentile church. "And the disciples 



144 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

were called Christians first in Antioch" (ii. 19-26). From this 
time on, our record is concerned almost exclusively with the labors 
of Paul. Antioch became the center from which the extension of 
the church was carried on throughout the empire. 

4. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH 

The Christian church arose, as we have seen, within Judaism. 
The disciples were at first loyal Jews, faithful to all its ordinances, 
but holding in addition that, the Messiah having come, obedience to 
the law must be supplemented by faith in Christ, repentance, and 
baptism. The first Christians continued their attendance upon the 
services and ritual of the temple, but in addition held their own meet- 
ings. The earliest meetings were held in a certain upper room in 
Jerusalem. Later, when their numbers had largely increased, 
they came together in small congregations at the homes of some of 
the members. 

Gradually, as the persecutions increased, the distinctness of Chris- 
tianity became apparent to the disciples, and their interest in the 
Jewish ordinances decreased and finally observance of them ceased. 
The destruction of the temple was a powerful blow to Judaism and 
was a means of turning many Jews to Christianity. Notwithstanding 
this, converts from among the Gentiles were still the most numerous, 
and as early as the close of the Apostolic Age the church was pre- 
dominantly Gentile. 

At first, the disciples held daily meetings for worship. As their 
numbers multiplied and the ordinary affairs of life demanded more 
attention, the meetings became less frequent. Very early, the first 
day of the week was held in special reverence as the day on which 
the Saviour had risen from the dead. Growing out of this, it came 
to be set apart for rest and worship as the Lord's day. (Cf. i Cor. 
16. 2. Acts 20. 7. Rev. I. 10.) 

The gospel was spread by personal testimony, by preaching, and 
by teaching. Especial importance was attached to teaching. Jewish 
converts required careful instruction, and the need was even greater 
in the case of Gentiles who embraced the faith, as many of them 
knew nothing of the Scriptures and came over to Christianity from 
the practice of idolatry. 

The form of organization of the church was a gradual develop- 
ment. Most prominent, and first in authority in the church, were 
the apostles, who had seen the Lord and had received their commis- 
sion direct from him. In the beginning, everything was in their 
hands. Very early "the seven" were appointed and charged with 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 145 

certain definite duties of administration (5. 3). Without any de- 
finite statement as to rank or specific duties, the records contain 
mention later of prophets, teachers, elders, or presbyters, bishops, 
and deacons (Acts 11. 27, 30; 13. i; 15. 6; 20. 28; 21. 18; i Cor. 12. 
28; Rom. 16. I ; Eph. 4. 11 ; Phil. i. i ; i Tim. 3. i). 

The first persecutions, as we have noted, were suffered at the 
hands of the Jewish leaders. The Roman government was inclined 
to be tolerant of all religious faiths, and at first its attitude was one 
of indifference and noninterference. In some instances, the Roman 
authorities protected the leaders of the church and openly be- 
friended them (see Acts 17. 9; 19. 33-41; 23. 17-24). As a result, the 
Christians were inclined to look upon the Roman state as their 
protector. Toward the close of the Apostolic Age, the rapid spread 
of Christianity brought it more prominently to the notice of the 
emperor. In the reign of the infamous Nero, the Roman persecutions 
of the Christians were begun. The later writings of the New Testa- 
ment reflect a changed attitude of the Christians to the Roman 
power, due to the terrible persecutions. The emperor becomes the 
embodiment of all evil and is referred to as anti-Christ. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. What was a chief office of an apostle, as indicated by 
Peter's statement in Acts i. 21, 22} 

2. Read Peter's Sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 
2. 14-36) and compare this with a modern sermon, noting 
likenesses and differences. 

3. Read as much of the Book of Acts as you can find 
time for, and gather together the passages which show the 
emphasis placed upon teaching as a means of winning con- 
verts to the Christian faith. (Such, for example, as Acts 
4. 2 and 5. 42.) 

4. From your reading of Acts write out a brief statement 
of how the Gospel came to be declared to Gentiles. 

5. Make a list of those who had the largest part in the 
spread of the Gospel in the Apostolic Age, according to the 
account given in the Acts. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

T. The twelve Apostles as named by Matthew: Simon 
and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee and 
John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and 
Matthew the publican; James the son of Alpheus, and 



146 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Thaddseus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot (lo. 
2-4; cf. Mark 3. 16-19; Luke 6. 14-16; Acts i. 13, 14). 

2. The apostle selected to take the place of Judas 
Iscariot: Matthias. 

3. Earliest centers of Christian influence : ( i ) Jerusalem ; 
Antioch. 



(2) 



IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 



To what extent did Jesus organize the church? 

What was the effect of the resurrection upon the disciples? 

What was the effect of the coming of the Spirit ? a 

What are the limits of the apostolic age? 

Give the principal facts concerning the Book of Acts. 

Narrate the early history of the church in Jerusalem. 

Describe the effect of persecution upon the Christian movement. 

Tell something of the character and work of Stephen. 

How was Peter convinced that the gospel was for Gentiles as well as Jews? 

Tell of the beginning of the work in Antioch. 

Tell what you can about the development of the organization of the church. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Gift of the Spirit 

D.C. p. 8i9f. 

2. The Persecutions. 

H.D. p. 701. 

3. The Life and Work of Stephen. 

H.D. p. 877. 

4. The Gospel at Antioch. 

D.C. p. 832. H.D. 36f. 

5. The Organization of the Cburciu 

H.D. p. 141. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 147 



CHAPTER XX 
THE WORK OF PAUL FOR CHRISTIANITY 
I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. GENERAL VIEW 

In the growth and development of the apostolic church the central 
figure is that of the apostle Paul. While Jesus Christ was the 
foundation on which the Christian church was built, the genius of 
Paul largely shaped and fashioned the superstructure. His evan- 
gelistic tours have been the example and inspiration of all mission- 
ary enterprise. His doctrinal interpretation of the teachings 
of Jesus has furnished the framework for most of the creeds 
of Christendom. The ethical and spiritual counsel contained in 
his Epistles is second only to the Gospels in its influence in shaping 
high and holy religious experience and character. He was the first 
of the apostles to catch the larger vision of Christ as the World 
Redeemer, and to him more than to any other may be ascribed the 
widespread triumphs of the Christian faith in the first century. 

2. PREPARATION 

(i) Early Environment and Education. The fundamental traits 
of three great nations played their part in the education and prep- 
aration of Paul. Born in Tarsus, the Grseco-Roman capital of 
Cilicia in Asia Minor, he came early in contact with Greek culture, 
with its subtle philosophies, and learned to speak its plastic tongue, 
so easily molded to the expression of all shades of thought. 

With Jewish parents of the sect of Pharisees, he doubtless, from 
early childhood, was given thorough instruction in the Hebrew 
Scriptures. While still quite young, he was sent to Jerusalem to 
study in the school of Gamaliel, one of the greatest and most broad- 
minded of the Jewish teachers. Thus instructed under the shadow 
of the temple, the boy was made acquainted with the religious tra- 
ditions of his race and thoroughly versed in the rabbinical modes of 
interpretation of the Old Testament Scriptures. During these years 
he became filled with a fervid zeal for the religion of his fathers, 
with its lofty spiritual conceptions and pure moral code (Gal. i. 14). 

Brought up under the Roman government, himself a Roman 
citizen, he developed the genius for organization, the cosmopolitan- 



148 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Ism, the broad outlook on human affairs, and the spirit of equity 
characteristic of the Roman. 

(2) Career as Persecutor. Saul is believed to have returned to 
Tarsus as soon as he reached manhood's estate to learn his trade of 
weaving goat's hair into a coarse fabric used for mats and tents. It 
is not probable that he was in Jerusalem at any time during the 
public ministry of Jesus. Returning to the Holy City not long 
after the crucifixion, he came for the first time in contact with the 
new sect, and his feeling was naturally one of antagonism. He 
doubtless realized that the triumph of the Christian religion meant 
the overthrow of the traditions and rites that he had hitherto held 
dear. Possibly he was of the Jewish Council before whom Stephen 
was brought, and was one of those who were "cut to the heart" by 
the brave words of the first Christian martyr (Acts 7. 54). It is 
clear he took a prominent part in the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7. 
58; 8. I). 

From that time on he threw his whole soul into the work of per- 
secuting this new sect which was "turning the world upside down." 
The persecution of which he was the leading spirit scattered the 
followers of Christ far and wide, and made the name of Saul known 
with terror throughout Judaea. 

(3) Conversion. From the testimony of the Epistles, we may 
believe that, for a long time, a spiritual struggle had gone on in 
the soul of Saul. Even while manifesting an intense zeal for his 
childhood's faith, he had felt the inadequacy of the law to satisfy 
his hunger and thirst for righteousness (Romans 3. 20). Thus, with 
the various elements of his nature warring within him, he started 
for Damascus, armed with letters to help him In stamping out the 
heresy there. On the way, the Light of the ages shone across his 
path and entirely changed his life course. 

From the various allusions to the conversion of Paul in the Acts 
and in his own letters, the following facts are revealed : A flash like 
lightning dazzled all who were with him, although it was broad day ; 
he was completely stunned and fell to the ground; a voice spoke to 
him; and, most important of all, he saw Jesus. The reality of 
Christ's appearance to Paul is testified to by more than one passage 
in the Epistles (Cor. 15. 8; 9. i). But greater far than the objective 
vision which dawned upon his physical sight was the inner revelation 
of Christ which illumined the darkness of his soul. No wonder 
that the shock of such a revelation brought blindness to his eyes and 
weakness to his limbs, so that for three days he neither ate nor 
drank, but strove in prayer to overcome the past ^nd prepare for 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 149 

the new task which God had laid upon him (Acts 9, 9-11). With 
his conversion came Paul's conviction that God had called him to 
bear the good news of Christ's salvation to the Gentile world (Acts 
26. 17-18). 

(4) Further Spiritual Preparation. Little is known of the first 
ten years of Paul's life as a Christian. From the meager allusions 
in the Acts and the Epistles we glean that he testified for Christ in 
Damascus, where he tasted his first experience of being perse- 
cuted by the Jews. He then spent three years in retirement and 
prayer in Arabia, was in Jerusalem a short time, and spent the re- 
mainder of the first decade of his Christian life in evangelistic work 
in Syria and Cilicia (Gal. i. 18-21). Undoubtedly this was a period 
of spiritual development, while his early missionary efforts gave him 
the practical experience fittingly preparing him for the great work 

of his later life. 

3. CAREER AS AN APOSTLE 

(i) The First Missionary Journey. From his labors in his own 
home field around Tarsus, Paul was brought by Barnabas to the 
new and thriving Gentile church at Antioch, where the two men 
labored for a year with abundant results. Then came the call to 
larger service. After consecration through prayer and fasting with 
the leaders of the church at Antioch, Barnabas and Paul set sail 
for Cyprus, the native home of Barnabas, in company with John 
Mark. During a tour of the island, the first noteworthy incident 
was at Paphos, where Paul confounded a Jewish sorcerer or mystic 
in his efforts to prevent the thoughtful attending of the ruler Sergius 
Paulus to the message of the apostle. From Paphos they went by 
boat to Perga in Asia Minor where John Mark left them (Acts 13. 
13). From Perga they traveled to Antioch in Pisidia and from there 
to Iconium, in both of which places they preached with such effect 
that many of the Gentiles believed, but the opposition of the Jews 
was so aroused that they were compelled to flee. Lystra and Derbe 
were the next points touched. In the former place Paul performed 
one of the few miracles accredited to him. From Derbe they re- 
traced their steps to Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch, soundly 
establishing their work (Acts 14. 21-23), and then sailed back to 
Antioch after a journey of about fourteen hundred miles and an 
absence of two or three years. 

(2) Council at Jerusalem. Not long after the return to Antioch 
an important conference was held at Jerusalem at which the ques- 
tion of requirements to be laid upon Gentile converts was broached. 
Paul's arguments that Gentiles should not be bound by Jewish rites 



150 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

and ceremonies prevailed. This question of Jewish observances was 
one of the most important that affected the inner life of the early 
Christians, and Paul deserves great credit for his part in settling the 
vexing problem so early in the history of the church (Acts 15. 12, 
23-29; Gal. 2. 1-3). 

(3) Second Missionary Journey. Paul now proposed to Bar- 
nabas that they should again visit the churches that they had estab- 
lished. Dissension arising between them with regard to John Mark 
(Acts 15. 36-39), they separated. Barnabas and Mark sailed for 
Cyprus, while Paul, accompanied by Silas (Acts 15. 22), went first 
to Syria and Cilicia, the scenes of Paul's first missionary efforts, 
and then proceeded to Derbe and Lystra. At the latter place they 
were joined by Timothy, the son of a Jewish mother and Greek 
father, who became one of Paul's most loyal and faithful helpers. 
At Troas came the Macedonian call, and crossing over by way of 
Samothrace, they reached Philippi, where Paul established his first 
church in Europe. Its nucleus was a band of loyal and devoted 
women (Acts 16. 13-15). Here he was beaten and imprisoned, but 
finally released and sent away by the authorities (Acts 16. 19-40). 
His next stopping place was Thessalonica, the capital city of Mace- 
donia, where another strong church was established, and he was 
again harassed by Jewish persecution. Coming to Beraea, he 
preached the gospel with glorious results, but on account of the 
Jewish opposition, Paul set sail for Athens, leaving Silas and Timothy 
to look after the Macedonian work. At Athens Paul preached 
his famous sermon on Mars Hill, but few converts seem to have 
been made. He then went to Corinth, at that time a very rich and 
important, but wicked, city. Here he found Aquila and Priscilla, 
Jews from Rome, with whom Paul lived during his stay of a year 
and a half in Corinth. Many Greeks were converted and the church 
of Corinth founded (Acts 18. i-ii). 

During the early part of his stay at Corinth, he was joined by 
Timothy with good news from the church at Thessalonica, where- 
upon Paul wrote to this Macedonian church his first Epistles. 

a. First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians. In these 
letters Paul expresses his joy in their faith, brotherly love, and 
patience in tribulation, answers their questionings as to the second 
coming of Christ, and exhorts them to purity of life and conduct, 
continued love, and industry. The style of both letters is simple 
and the manner is affectionate and comforting. 

From Corinth Paul set sail for Asia Minor, touched at Ephesus, 
where he left Aquila and Priscilla, who had accompanied him that 



OF TEACHER TRAINING i^i 

far, passed through Caesarea, and returned to Antioch. During this 
journey he had traveled about three thousand miles, had established 
some of his strongest churches, and had firmly planted the gospel in 
Europe. 

b. Letter to the Galatians. There is some controversy as to 
the people to whom this letter is addressed, the greater number of 
authorities favoring what is known as the South Galatia theory — 
namely, that the letter is written to the churches founded by Paul 
and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia, Lystra, and Derbe. The 
letter is an impassioned defense of his own apostleship (Gal. i), 
and its prevailing themes are "Freedom from the Law" and "Justi- 
fication by Faith in Christ" (Gal. 3. 11-14; 5. 1-6). 

(4) Third Missionary Journey. The principal work of this 
journey was done at Ephesus, which Paul reached after passing 
through Cilicia and South Galatia. His success is well expressed 
in the words, "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed," 
and is demonstrated also by the opposition aroused among the silver- 
smiths, who saw their business injured by the spread of the gospel 
(Acts 19. 24-41). From Ephesus Paul wrote his first and second 
letters to the Corinthians. 

a. First Letter to the Corinthians. This Epistle is the most 
systematic in outline and contains the most beautiful, eloquent, and 
powerful passages that Paul ever wrote. He protests against fac- 
tions in the church (i Cor. i, 2, and 3), exalts spiritual gifts, and, 
above all others, the spirit of love. This is the keynote of the entire 
Epistle (i Cor. 12, 13). "To love abundantly is to live abundantly, 
and to love forever is to live forever." ^ In the resurrection, he de- 
clares, is to be found a sufficient motive for all striving (i Cor. 15). 

b. Second Letter to the Corinthians. This is perhaps the most 
emotional and personal of all Paul's letters, and the least systematic 
in form. The points of chief value to the student are found in 
the passages on giving (2 Cor. 8 and 9), and in the description of 
Paul's own labors, persecutions, and tribulations (2 Cor. 11 and 12). 

From Ephesus Paul started on a tour through Macedonia and 
Greece to Corinth, where he remained about three months, 
whence he sent his letter by Phebe to Rome, the imperial city, 
toward which his missionary zeal had yearned with ardent longing. 

c. Letter to the Romans. This is one of the most doctrinal of 
Paul's letters, and from it more than one creed has drawn support 
for its tenets. Its main teachings are that salvation and holiness 
can be attained only by the surrender of the soul to the gospel of 

^Drummond, The Greatest Thing in the World. 



152 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Christ (Rom. 8. 1-4 to 10. 4), and that God's chosen people are those 
who are led by his Spirit (Rom. 8. 14-17). The practical advice for 
the guidance of everyday life and conduct in relation to others con- 
tained in Romans 12 to 15 is of the highest ethical value. 

From Corinth Paul went to Jerusalem, eager to convey to the 
church there the large sum of money which he had been collecting 
for two years among the Gentile churches. Here in the sacred city 
of the Jews the flame of Jewish hatred that had pursued him all 
through his career reached its culmination. Paul was arrested 
and escaped the most shameful treatment only by his declaration 
of Roman citizenship. Then followed his imprisonment at 
Csesarea, his hearings before Felix, Festus, and King Agrippa, 
and his departure for Rome for trial (Acts 21. 27 to 26. 32). After 
turbulent weather and shipwreck, during which Paul's courage and 
noble spirit were displayed, they reached Rome. Here Paul was 
greeted by Christian friends, and although a prisoner, was permitted 
to live in his own hired apartments and teach the people. From 
Rome he wrote his letters to the Philippians, Philemon, Colossians, 
and Ephesians. 

d. Letter to the Philippians. Between the church at Philippi, 
the first fruits of Paul's work in Europe, and the apostle there was 
a tie of unusual affection and devotion. This letter is the spon- 
taneous outpouring of Paul's heart. Its keynote is expressed in the 
word "joy" (Phil. i. 4; 4. 4). It sets a high ideal of mental and 
spiritual attainment (Phil. 3. 13-15; 4. 8). 

e. Letter to Philemon. This letter, delivered by the runaway 
slave whom Paul is returning to his master, shows the leavening 
influence of the Christian faith on social customs. Christianity does 
not reform society nor rectify its abuses by violent changes in gov- 
ernments and institutions, but it introduces into human relations a 
spirit of divine love, which makes of master and slave, no longer the 
oppressor and the oppressed, but "brothers beloved" (Philem. 16). 

f. Letter to the Colossians. This letter, though short, is one 
of the most intricate in argument of Paul's Epistles. Its leading 
thought is the exaltation of Christ as God (Col. 2. 9), and as the 
source of all our spiritual life (Col. 3. 4). 

g. Letter to the Ephesians. The purpose of this Epistle is "to 
emphasize the moral and spiritual fullness of the Christian life and 
the closeness of the union which binds Christians to the Christ and 
to each other." ^ It is believed by some to be intended as a general 
letter for circulation among a number of the churches in Asia 

^Hastings, Bible Dictionary, p. 715. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 153 

Minor. The whole plan of God through the ages (Eph, 2. 4-7), the 
relation of Christ to his church (Eph. 4. 4-16), and the lofty moral 
standard demanded of the Christian (Eph. 5. 15 to 6. 17), are 
set forth in a letter almost perfect in form, beautiful in style, and 
sublime in expression. 

(5) Later Journeys of Paul. While no definite record is given 
in the New Testament of the last days of Paul, from references in 
the Epistles it would seem that he was released from imprisonment 
in Rome and made other journeys to Macedonia, Crete, Troas, and 
points in Asia Minor and Greece. It was during these later journey- 
ings that his first letter to Timothy and the one to Titus were 
written. These, with the second letter to Timothy, are known as 
the "Pastoral Epistles." 

a. First Letter to Timothy. This letter to Paul's beloved "son 
in the faith" (i Tim. i. 2) is descriptive of the office and duties of a 
bishop, minister, and teacher, and lays much stress on the orderly 
conduct of church matters and the teaching of sound doctrine. 

b. Letter to Titus. Titus was possibly one of Paul's converts on 
the first missionary journey, and accompanied him when he went up 
to the famous Council at Jerusalem (Gal. 2. 1-3). He was placed by 
Paul in charge of the church at Crete. This letter consists of prac- 
tical advice for the development of Christian character in both the 
ministry and the laity. 

Again Paul was arrested, imprisoned, and, probably while under 
sentence of death, he wrote his second letter to Timothy. 

c. Second Letter to Timothy. Worn out with toil and suffering, 
bereft of the presence of all his friends save Luke, the heart of the 
aged apostle turns to his "dearly beloved son," He beseeches 
Timothy's presence (2 Tim. 4. 9-11), counsels him to hold fast the 
faith, and gives his final triumphant testimony to what he has ac- 
complished for God (2 Tim. 4. 7-8) and to the helpful and strength- 
ening presence of the Lord with him (2 Tim. 4. 17, 18). 

(6) The Finished Course, The work of Paul was ended by his 
execution under Nero about A. D. ^T. We know from his last words 
to Timothy that he met death with courage, and with the joyous 
expectation of beholding again the "heavenly vision" that shone on 
his way to Damascus and lighted him into the perfect path that 
leads to life eternal. 

4. THE LIFE WORK 

The work of Paul as a missionary is too well set forth in the 
accounts of his journeys to necessitate an extended review. His 
work as a theologian finds its echo in the doctrinal writings of the 



154 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Christian centuries. Some less discussed phases of his life and work 
merit brief mention. 

(i) Paul as a Teacher. Paul well understood the importance of 
the "point of contact." He had marvelous skill in adapting his 
message and his mode of presentation to the mental grasp and 
attainments of his hearer, whoever the latter might be, "Jew or 
Greek, bond or free." He studied to be "all things to all men," 
and without any compromise of faith or principle, he met each one 
on the plane of his knowledge and beliefs, seeking to lead him to 
higher and loftier spiritual conceptions. (See Acts 17. 22-28; 24. 
10; 26. 2-3.) 

(2) Paul as Church Organizer. Paul was no mere traveling 
evangelist, exhorting men to repentance and acceptance of Christ 
and leaving the guidance of their Christian life to others. He visited 
and revisited the places where he had labored (Acts 15. 41), and 
gave watchful attention to every detail of church management. His 
letters are full of his counsel on the position of the various leaders 
and workers in the church (i Cor. 12. 27, 28), on the conduct and be- 
havior of the membership, and on the moral and social problems 
which vexed the early church. Everywhere he strove to establish 
his work on a firm and permanent basis. 

(3) Paul as a Writer. No passages in the New Testament so 
strongly reflect the personality of the writer as do the Epistles of 
Paul. Written with the needs of certain individuals in mind, with 
an immediate purpose uppermost in his thought, and with the 
pressure of other work crowding him for time, they lack the polished 
diction of the classic essayist of his period. There are few flowers 
of speech and brilliant metaphors in his writings, and yet they are 
eloquent, not with the charm of poetical phrasing and flowing 
periods, but with the magnetism of a fervid soul flaming with a 
divine fire which it longs to enkindle in the hearts of others. His 
letters are pregnant with lofty thought; they are full of love for 
those to whom they are addressed and of interest in all that affects 
them ; they teem with practical advice for the everyday life, and 
they represent, from those first written to the later ones, the growth 
and development of his own spiritual experience. They give us a 
sense of nearness to the man which bridges the nineteen centuries 
of time, and makes him almost as potent a leader of Christian 
thought to-day as in his lifetime. 

(4) Paul as a Prophet. If a true meaning of prophet is a man 
to whom is given a vision of divine things which is not accorded to 
his fellow men, and who devotes his life to inspiring others with the 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 155 

spirit caught from that vision, then Paul is one of the greatest of 
prophets. He, more than any other of the apostles, understood the 
true significance of the mission and work of Jesus Christ. He, more 
than the rest, had the breadth of mind to grasp the idea of the 
common brotherhood of all men, and to catch a glimpse of the vision 
seen later by the writer of the Apocalypse, when the kingdoms of 
this world should "become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ." 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. From your reading of the Book of Acts name and 
briefly characterize the various companions of Paul. 

2. Read the various accounts of his conversion which 
Paul gives, and indicate what seem to you the most signifi- 
cant points (cf. Acts 22. 3-21; 26. 4-23; Gal. i. 11-17). 

3. Draw a map illustrating Paul's missionary journeys. 

4. Make a special study of some one of the shorter letters 
of Paul, and write a statement on its principal teachings. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. The birthplace of Paul, the nationality of his parents, 
his occupation, name of his early teacher, and the events 
just preceding his conversion. 

2. The names of the places visited by Paul on each of the 
first three missionary journeys. (See the Lesson Statement.) 

3. Review the titles of Paul's letters in order. 

4. Commit to memory i Corinthians 13. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Estimate the place of Paul in the life of the church. 
How did Paul's early life prepare him for his mission to the Gentiles? 
What part did Paul play in the martyrdom of Stephen? 
Narrate the circumstances of Paul's conversion. 
How were the years following his conversion spent? 

What did Paul accomplish in his first missionary journey? The second? The third? 
What was the significance of the council at Jerusalem? 

Give the principal characteristics of the following letters: Galatians, First Corin- 
thians, Romans, Philippians, Ephesians, First Timothy. 

Where, at about what time, and under what emperor, did Paul meet his death? 
Discuss the work of Paul as a teacher, as a church organizer, as a writer. 
In what sense may Paul be said to have been a prophet ? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

1. The Conversion of Paul. 

D.C. p. Ixxxviii. H.D. p. 687. 

2. Paul as a Founder of Churches 

D.C. p. Ixxxixf. H.D. p. 688ff. 

3. Paul as a Writer. 

D.C. p. x6i. 

4. The Council at Jerusalem. 

D.C. p. Ixxxix. H.D. 69iIIIff. 



156 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE RELIGIOUS TEACHING VALUES OF DIFFERENT 
PARTS OF THE BIBLE 

L LESSON STATEMENT 

Our study of the Bible has made clear the statement of an earlier 
chapter that we have in the Bible library nearly all forms of liter- 
ature and of speech (see p. 7). As we should expect having been 
created out of life it reflects that almost infinite variety that we 
see among human beings as well as in nature. The Bible has, says 
Pascal Harrower, "the ceaseless change of hum_an life, its exhaust- 
less variety of experience, its deep undertones of mystery and 
sorrow, the tragedies and sins and toils of men, the play and inter- 
play of souls, the sweep of empires, the rise and growth and fall 
of nations." It has an inner unity (see p. 8) which brings its widely 
separated books together, but it is not to be thought of as one book 
of sixty-six equal constituent parts. All the books of the Bible 
must not be put on an artificial plane of equality. It will not do to 
select either lessons or texts here and there from all its parts as 
though all were equally authoritative, recognizing no distinction 
in quality of moral teaching and religious value, for example, 
between the book of Ecclesiastes and some one of the Gospels. 
Though we may recognize that the Bible is one body, throbbing 
throughout with divine life, yet its members have different values 
and uses. We cannot say of any, "We have no use of thee," neither 
can we deny to each its own distinctive value ani use. 

I. OUR POINT OF VIEW IN TEACHING THE BIBLE 

Our point of view in teaching children and young people in the 
Sunday school is not primarily that of going to the Bible for author- 
itative information. We view the Bible not so much as a source 
of information as a source of unfailing inspiration and of moral 
and religious power. We seek to avoid two errors, both of which 
result from maintaining extreme positions, and either of which is 
a pedagogical blunder likely to be fraught with gravest conse- 
quences. In the first place, we seek in the use of Bible lessons from 
the early part of the Old Testament to avoid teaching as literal 
fact that which in the later education of the child will be contra- 
dicted. This error, due very largely to a failure to distinguish dif- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 15; 

ferences of literary form, has been very common in the past, and in 
many cases such teaching proved to be seed which brought forth 
a harvest either of superficial but troublesome doubts, or of per- 
sistent indifference. Our study of the different kinds of literature 
in the Bible, and of the way in which the Bible came into existence, 
ought to make this mistake impossible for us. Of course no one of 
us will allow himself consciously to be led, by any influence whatso- 
ever, into teaching as literal fact that which he himself does not 
believe to be such. This is a species of dishonesty peculiarly 
wicked ; moreover, the child is as exceedingly quick to detect 
and resent insincerity in a teacher as he is ready to implicitly 
follow the teacher whom he trusts. The second error is one 
to which those who study the Bible by modern methods are 
especially liable. It is that of assigning boys and girls the untimely 
and for them unprofitable task of dissecting books of the Bible in 
an effort to discover constituent parts, or evidences of name, place, 
or date of authorship. These are the dry bones of biblical anatomy, 
and while it is very necessary that they should be studied and 
known, the Sunday school is not the place for the study. With 
this preliminary statement in mind, let us consider briefly the reli- 
gious teaching values of the different parts of the Bible which we 
have come to know in our study. 

2. TEACHING VALUES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

(i) Prophetic Literature. 

a. Prophetic History. The narrative portions of the books of 
prophetic history appeal powerfully to the imagination of childhood. 
The story form in which they are cast greatly enhances their value 
as material for teaching children. The primitive conception of 
God, his nearness to men, his association with nature, is under- 
standable by the child, appeals to his mind, and thus makes 
God real to him. The fact that the history concerns itself with per- 
sons rather than being a chronologically connected narrative makes 
it appeal the more strongly to the interests of children. The char- 
acters are intensely human, their motives are familiar, and, having 
made their acquaintance, we feel as if we had known them all our 
lives. They were not perfect men, judged by Christian standards, 
and it would be a fatal mistake to hold them up as models, as has 
sometimes been done in the past. They were men of faith, cast in 
heroic mold, lovers of God, zealous for the right as they understood 
it; and when their lives are seen in correct historical perspective 
they have many lessons for present day life and conduct. 



158 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

There are parts of the history, especially in Joshua and Judges, 
chronicles of rude warfare and bloody slaughter, which convey 
comparatively little religious teaching. Profit in the study of the 
history of Israel is to be gained by considering it in its broad out- 
lines rather than in detail. Thus studied, it reveals, as the history 
of no other ancient nation, the hand of God in the affairs of men. 
It is peculiarly fitted to impart a consciousness of God, which will 
be of the highest service to the individual throughout life, 

b. Prophecy. The prophets addressed themselves primarily to 
the nation. The burden of their message was that Jehovah required 
as his instrument a righteous nation, and that famine, defeat in 
war, captivity, and all national disasters were the penalties of 
national apostasy. The new social conscience of our own times 
is a reflection of the spirit of the Hebrew prophets. In their writ- 
ings are to be found the divine imperative for social righteousness 
and social justice. Nowhere outside of the Bible can we find mate- 
rial such as this for awakening a sense of national and social 
responsibility, for furnishing moral and religious dynamic for 
reforms, and for enforcing the certainty of divine approval of obe- 
dience and of punishment for unrighteousness. Prophecy is not 
teaching material for young children. It is to be reserved for 
adolescence. Then, when the social instincts are ripening to matur- 
ity these writings will come as an inspired message from on high 
to fire the soul of youth. These proclamations from of old of the 
universal principles of justice, mercy, and truth will live again to 
make prophets of action of the young men and women of the 
twentieth century. To think of prophecy in this way, and thus to 
teach it, is to give it an opportunity to show its eternal spiritual 
vitality and power, an opportunity denied to it if it is considered 
simply as wonderful ancient foretelling of things to come. 

The prophets, of all the writers of the Old Testament, had the 
most sublime and the truest conception of God. They gave to the 
world for the first time a conception of the Supreme Being as God 
over all, perfect in power as in justice, in truth as in holiness, 
almighty Ruler of the nations, exacting righteousness of all, full of 
pity and compassion for men. 

(2) Priestly Literature. 

a. Priestly History. As history Chronicles are principally a 
duplication of Kings. Ezra and Nehemiah are pervaded by a strong 
religious tone. Esther contains a striking story, beautifully told. 
Its teaching value is somewhat impaired by the moral deficiencies of 
some of its characters. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 159 

b. Books of the Law. The great service of the biblical books of 
law is that they put the force of divine command back of the 
fundamental moral laws which underlie all civilization. The moral 
prohibitions of the Old Testament are not merely the laws of 
Moses or any Hebrew lawmaker; they are the inexorable, unalter- 
able laws of Jehovah. The insistence upon this, that in them 
Jehovah speaks, gives them value for every age. At the stage in 
Israel's development when they were given injunctions of com- 
pelling force were required. So in the education of the child there 
is a period of moral immaturity when "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt 
not" are necessary. Explanation of reasons will come later; now 
unquestioning obedience is necessary. Also in the lives of most 
men and women there are likely to be hours of weakness, times of 
special stress of temptation, when the directness, the peremptori- 
ness, the divine authority of the commandments, act as a saving, 
power. 

For the most part the significance of the detailed ceremonial law 
passed with the passing of the era of the priest. It embodies the 
rites and ceremonies of Judaism and Judaism was superseded by 
Christianity. 

(3) Wisdom Literature. The counsel of the Wise was ad- 
dressed to persons of mature experience. It is not therefore a liter- 
ature for children. Its aim was to teach the individual how to 
live ; primarily it is practical ethics, pervaded by a deeply religious 
spirit. Like the law, it is definite and direct. These characteristics 
make it valuable teaching material for men and women, especially for 
those who will do little thinking or studying on their own account. 
To many the aphorisms and exhortations of the Sage will come "as 
goads and as nails well fastened" (Eccl. 12. 11). The literature 
of wisdom deals, secondly, with certain outstanding life problems 
as suffering, love, and doubt. It is in this that its universal char- 
acter is most clearly seen. In none of the wisdom books is the 
level of inspiration equal to that of the New Testament. For this 
reason they must be studied with discrimination, and in teach- 
ing them comparison must constantly be made with the teachings 
of the New Testament. 

(4) Devotional Literature. It is particularly true of the poetry 
of the Old Testament that its teaching value is not to be measured 
by the extent to which it furnishes instruction. Its office is, rather, 
to kindle high emotions and Impart spiritual inspiration. Matthew 
Arnold edited the latter part of Isaiah as a school reader, concern- 
ing which Fitch says, "He did not, of course, expect that English 



i6o FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

children would understand all its meaning — but he knew how much 
the imagination of a child may be kindled by large thoughts and 
lofty language, and he thought it a sin to overlook the educative 
value of the Hebrew poetry, merely because it might be difficult for 
a modern teacher to interpret the whole of its meaning." ^ In 
teaching the Psalms to children discrimination is again needed. 
The imprecatory psalms, and occasional verses of some other 
psalms, might better be entirely omitted. Selecte4 passages, espe- 
cially such as are the outpouring of a confident faith, the expression 
of ardent spiritual affection for God, and of exultant joy in his love 
and care, also of reliance upon him for leading and guidance, and 
the tracing of the hand of God in nature and in the history of na- 
tions, should be given a permanent place in memory. Their value 
in developing religious sentiments, in bringing God near in the 
crises of life, and in imparting comfort, solace, and strength will 
be immeasurable. Because they have this power men and women 
will continue to resort to them, seeking their aid, throughout life. 

3. TEACHING VALUES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

(i) The Gospels. As has already been emphasized (Chapter 
XVII), the preeminent service of the Gospels is that they reveal 
Jesus Christ to us. The supreme task of all religious teaching is to 
bring him near as a living Person ; to acquaint our pupils with his 
character and his teaching; to show him as friend, helper, and 
Saviour; to beget in their hearts love, loyalty, faith, and obedience 
toward him. In accomplishing this most important task our depend- 
ence is upon the Gospels. It is by their help, and only by their 
help, that we can make Jesus Christ a living and speaking being 
who shall fill the imaginations of our pupils, compel their admira- 
tion and their adoration, summon them to repentance for their 
sins and to the realization of their highest ideals and aspirations in 
him. We shall come again and again to the Gospels for lesson 
material, that they may bear their message to every period of life, 
for, unlike some other parts of the Bible, there are lessons in the 
Gospels for every age. The stories of the infancy of Jesus, the 
record of his deeds of kindness and of heroism, his character and 
his teaching, all contained in the Gospels, give to them a conspicu- 
ously central place in religious teaching. 

(2) The Book of Acts. The historical importance of the book 
of Acts is very great. In its account of the life and labors of 



1 Educational Aims and Methods, page 19 (?) 



OF TEACHER TRAINING i6i 

Paul it contains important biographical material which is capable 
of being presented in a fascinating way to boys and girls. Its 
record of the triumphal progress of Christianity gives assurance of 
the power of men, when under the dominance of the Spirit, to 
overcome all obstacles and to triumph against all foes. The study 
of the rise and growth of the Christian Church is important for 
adults. An intimate understanding of these historical beginnings — 
of the conflicts in which it was necessary for Christianity to engage 
in order to get a foothold, of how those conflicts with Judaism and 
with the Roman power left their impress upon the early doctrinal 
formulations, of how the organization of the church gradually 
developed — is absolutely necessary to intelligent Christian belief and 
to intelligent and consistent church membership. 

(3) The Epistles of Faul. The letters of Paul were written to 
adult Christians. Three principal elements stand out prominently in 
them — doctrinal teachings, exhortations pertaining to conduct, and 
personal messages. Each epistle was addressed to a particular sit- 
uation, but after these centuries will still repay intense study by 
every Christian. Galatians and Romans, especially, are valuable as 
a systematic statement of the Christian faith. The study of 
Ephesians and Philippians and meditation upon them will wonder- 
fully enlarge and enrich the religious life. Each letter has some 
distinctive contribution to make to Christian life and thought. 

One of the outstanding characteristics of Paul's writings is his 
uncompromising attitude toward common sins. He sets forth in 
striking terms their hideous, blighting, soul-destroying qualities. 
His declarations and exhortations act as a moral tonic to men and 
women brought daily face to face with temptation. 

(4) The General Epistles. The same three elements, named 
above, are seen in the general epistles, with the hortatory element 
somewhat more predominant. The epistle of James and Hebrews 
are exceptions. James may well be studied in connection with 
the teaching of Jesus, It is a very valuable book. Hebrews is a 
stimulus to faltering faith. It sets forth in a remarkable way the 
superiority of the revelation of God through Jesus Christ. 

(5) The Apocalypse. The book of Revelation was written with 
direct reference to circumstances existing at the time. Its obscure 
and elaborate symbols were necessitated by the historical situation. 
Little of value can be accomplished by an attempt to interpret them. 
In no case should children be puzzled through their being presented 
to them. To mature people, in trouble or distress, overburdened 
or careworn, the book will be a message of assurance and comfort. 



j52 first standard manual 

II. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

As there is no Constructive Task, and as no References f 

Supplementary Reading are assigned for this lesson, tir 

may be afforded for a general review of all the memo^ 

assignments of Part I. • 

III. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

^'"^^WhitTs'to be said of the men of whom this history treats? 
What are the chief modern values of prophecy? 
Describe the service of the books of the law. 
How is the wisdom literature to be utilized? 

irttftlfSels p^^eS'^^^^^^^^^ teaching material? 

ffjrs?mron\"eVrfn^4^^^^^^^^^ epistles of Paul. Of the ge: i 

epist^s^^^ is to be said of the Apocalypse? 



IS 
k 



I: 



SECTION II— THE PUPIL 

CHAPTER XXII 

A CHAPTER OF DEFINITIONS 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I I. THE STUDY OF MIND 

[ It is doubtless already plain to the student that in this course we 
live to do largely with mind, using this term as synonymous with 
I ml or spirit. In any study of mind it is necessary to use a few 
ore or less technical terms. It is desirable that these terms be 
jjfined as simply and clearly as possible. 

I The study of mind is a science in itself, one of the most fascinat- 

g, involved, and elaborate of the sciences — psychology. This 

lapter will therefore be a chapter of definitions in elementary 

ychology. Fortunately, the general processes of the mind can be 

uply and briefly stated. As Professor James said, for most teach- 

I s a general view of psychology is enough, if it be a clear view and 

I true one, "and such a general view, one may say, might almost be 

! ritten on the palm of one's hand."^ 

1 (i) What the Mind Is. We may define mind in terms of its 
tivity, or by the ways it expresses itself, but we do not know 
hat mind itself is. We know it is not the body, nor any part 
the body. The body is its means of communication with the 
aterial world and with other minds. We can go one step further 
id say that the mind is in intimate and dependent relation with the 
;rvous system, more particularly with the brain. But if it be 
ked how the brain conditions the acts of the mind "we have," 
quote Professor James again, "not the remotest inkling of an 
iswer to give." It follows that we can study the mind only by 
udying what the mind does.^ 

(2) Consciousness. The general characteristic of mind is con- 
iousness. By this we mean human mental life — what the mind 
alizes of itself and of its actions and states. 



^Talks to Teachers, p. 12. 

^Cf. Home, Psychological Principles of Education, p. 333: "The spirit 
v/hose education we undertake) is not a mysterious and inaccessible entity 
ithin us, nor a part even of accessible being, nor, least of all, a foreign 
ement introduced into man by religion; it is simply and clearly the whole 
nsciousness in its relation to Deity. ... By the spirit we mean, then, mind 
its relation to Deity." 

163 



i64 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

An important fact concerning consciousness is that it is always 
complex. It is difficult to study any single act of mind, for the 
mind invariably does several things at once. So common a thing 
as recalling a previous experience, experiencing a feeling of pleas- 
ure, or deciding to perform the most ordinary act involves a com- 
plicated mental state. Not even a sensation, the simplest, most 
primitive element of the mental life, comes into the field of con- 
sciousness unaccompanied. Pure sensations can only be realized in 
the earliest days of infancy. 

2. THE MIND IN ACTION 

There is no universal agreement as to classification of the modes 
or forms of the mind's action. The most familiar and most gen- 
erally accepted classification is that which divides the mental life 
into knowing, feeling, and willing. While we use below the cor- 
responding nouns, intellect, feeling, and will, for example, speak- 
ing of intellect as the instrument of knowing, it must not be under- 
stood that the mind may be divided into departments, or faculties. 

(i) Intellect. We speak of the mind as intellect when we have 
under consideration its power to think and to know. To acquire, 
retain, arrange, and elaborate knowledge is a function of the mind, 
and the intellect is the means by which we do this. The intellect is 
thus a primary instrument of consciousness. As the Christian reli- 
gion is truth of the highest form the fundamental importance of 
knowledge in the process of religious education is obvious. 

a. Sensations. The primary basis of knowledge is sensation, the 
material given to the mind by the senses. All psychologists agree 
that sensation is the most rudimentary form of conscious experience, 
the simplest form of consciousness. Sensations are of two kinds: 
general or organic sensations, connected with the organism as a 
whole, not easily localized, and special sensations, connected with 
special sense organs, as the eye, the ear, the nostrils. Of organic 
sensations the most important are hunger, thirst, stifling, fatigue, 
exhilaration. The organic sensations are subjective; they are feel- 
ings; and they give us no knowledge of the objective world. The 
special sensations ar@ sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. 
Through these we get the bulk of our knowledge of the objective 
world. Every special sensation has a subjective reference, an 
accompanying feeling. Thus I taste a pickle ; the sensation is of 
sweetness or of sourness, but it is also agreeable or unpleasant. 

b. Perception. This is the process by which the mind constructs 
a mental picture of the sensations which come to it. It is 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 165 

defined by Sully as "The process of localizing sensations and refer- 
ring them to definite objects." It is that which the mind does in 
interpreting the sense impressions which it receives. The result of 
the mind's act of perception is called a percept. 

c. Memory. This is the power of the mind to retain and to recall 
a previous experience. Beethoven composed several great works 
after he was completely deaf. The combination of notes and tones 
which we admire in hearing them were present with him in memory. 
Says Brumbaugh, thinking of memory, "God has so planned that 
what we plant in a human soul may bloom perennially." 

d. Imagination. Imagination is the mind's power to add to, sub- 
tract from, multiply, or divide what is brought to it by sensations. 
Hartley was taken forcibly into a neighbor's barn by three older 
boys and the door closed upon him for five minutes. Escaping, he 
ran terror-stricken to his mother and declared that he had been 
chased a mile by a crowd of boys who imprisoned him in a barn 
for three hours. The child's imagination enlarges his world and 
is a constant source of increased satisfaction to him. He learns 
only gradually the distinction between fancy and fact. The more 
strong and vivid the imagination, the more difficult is accuracy of 
statement and strict adherence to fact. Imagination is invaluable 
as it is at the basis of art, discovery, invention, and almost all great 
achievement. 

e. Conception. Thinking has three aspects known as conception, 
judgment, and reasoning. The ability the mind has to combine 
percepts, or individual notions, into a group or class idea is the 
power of conception. You enter the dining-room and seat yourself 
at your host's table. You perceive before you grapes, pears, 
oranges, and bananas, tastefully arranged. You exclaim, "What a 
tempting basket of fruit!" The combination of the individual per- 
cepts forms the concept. In practical experience a concept is "an 
image which has become less and less definite so that it stands not 
for one perception but for many similar ones." Conception thus 
involves isolation, or analysis, and putting together, or synthesis. 

f. Judgment. Judgment takes the concept and says some- 
thing about it; it is a mental act in which we discover and mentally 
assert the likeness or difference between two concepts or between a 
concept and a percept. Or we may say it is the conclusion reached 
by the comparison of concepts. An example of a judgment consist- 
ing of the assertion of agreement between two concepts is. The 
horse is black. Judgment is a fundamental process in all thinking, 
and the ability to form correct judgments is important. 



i66 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

g. Reasoning. "Reasoning is an act of the mind in which we 
affirm the agreement of two concepts on the ground of the like- 
ness of each of them to a third concept." Expressed in language, 
reasoning involves three steps, illustrated as follows: (i) All boys 
are disorderly; (2) This class is a boys' class; (3) (Therefore) 
this is a disorderly class. The first is the major premise, the second 
the minor premise, the third the conclusion. For reasoning to be 
sound both major and minor premise must be correct. The above 
example is false reasoning because the major premise is untrue. 
The process of reasoning is so familiar to the mind that in every- 
day practice the terms are seldom fully expressed. 

(2) Feeling. A second basal element in mental life is feeling. 
There is no generally accepted classification of the feelings. Per- 
haps none better has been suggested than that into sensuous feel- 
ings, and ideal feelings or emotions. 

a. Sensuous Feelings. These are the feelings which are most 
closely associated with the senses — the feeling of the agreeable, the 
pleasing, or of the disagreeable and repellent in connection with 
sensations of taste, smell, sight, sound, touch, and so forth. 

b. Emotions. The emotions are complex feelings. They are 
induced by sensation combined with ideas, images, memories, and 
tendencies to expression. They are sometimes classified as coarser, 
or bodily emotions, and finer emotions in which the physiological 
connection is remote. Another, and somewhat more detailed classi- 
fication, is as follows : 

(a) Egoistic Emotions. Those that center in self as the object; 
such as hope, fear, anger, grief, envy, jealousy, pride, love of praise, 
love of possession, love of self. Some of these — for example, the 
love of possession — are instinctive in the little child. 

(b) Altruistic Emotions. Those that center about others than 
self; as sympathy, pity, love, hate, friendship, respect. The altru- 
istic emotions have their beginnings in childhood, but attain full 
growth only in adolescence. 

(c) Ideal Emotions or Sentiments. Those that center about 
ideals ; as love of truth, of beauty, of God, of moral excellence ; 
reverence, aesthetic pleasure. These become full grown in late 
adolescence and mature life. 

In the literature of religious education the terms "feelings" and 
"emotions" are frequently used synonymously. They are funda- 
mental in conscious life ; without them there could be neither knowl- 
edge nor will. Action often depends more upon feeling than upon 
knowledge. Says Angell : "Though the white light of reason burn 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 167 

never so purely, it produces of itself no generative heat adequate to 
set in motion the springs of our conduct. For this is required the 
high temperature of desire, of aversion, of general emotional excite- 
ment." The nurture of the feelings is of the utmost importance. 

(3) Will. A third fundamental element in mental life is will, 
by which we mean the mind's power to choose ; to command, direct, 
and control action. It is the executive function of the mind. We 
may have both knowledge and desire without action; the realization 
of desire in action is the work of the will. The will cannot be 
sharply separated, or set off by itself, as a distinct part of the mind; 
it is inextricably bound up with instinctive impulses and tendencies 
and with habit. Nevertheless, it has been rightly termed the kingly 
faculty of the mind, that which more than any other power con- 
stitutes man a man and allies him with God. The will is of central 
importance; a chief part of our work consists in training it aright. 

(4) The Unitary Mind. The mind Is one. "The whole mind 
thinks in thought, feels in feeling, and wills in action." Much mis- 
understanding has been wrought in the past through speaking of 
the mind as divided into separate parts, each working independently. 
We should clearly understand that we are dealing with an indivisible 
whole, a unitary mind. Whatever is done it is the I that does it. 
There is just one I, and it cannot be divided. 

3. THE BASIS OF RELIGION 

The religious life is not to be identified exclusively with feeling, 
nor with thinking, willing, or doing taken alone. It is more than 
any of these. The basis of religion is not, therefore, to be sought 
in any isolated part of the child's nature. We cannot find a separ- 
ately marked off religious section of human nature. Religion has 
to do with the child's complete nature as a thinking, feeling, will- 
ing, acting being. The whole child, not some fractional part of 
him, is to be nurtured. If his religious life is to be normal and 
well balanced, we must give attention to the nurture of feeling, the 
instruction of mind, and the training of will. Our aim should be 
"to develop in the pupil a normal, well-rounded religious life in 
which the intellectual element shall temper the emotional and rightly 
guide the will, in which knowledge shall be quickened by lofty 
emotions, and in which feeling and intellect shall in turn be subject 
to a disciplined will ; where beauty, truth, and holiness, the broken 
rays of that light which lighteth every man, shall blend, revealing 
Him whom to know and love and serve is life eternal."^ 



^Meyer, The Graded Sunday School in Principle and Practice, p. 24. 



I68 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

II. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"Four things a man must learn to do 
If he would make his record true : 
To think without confusion clearly; 
To love his fellow men sincerely; 
To act from honest motives purely; 
To trust in God and heaven securely." 

— Henry van Dyke. 

1. Memorize some one definition of the following terms: 
Intellect, sensation, perception, memory, conception, im- 
agination, judgment, reasoning, feeling, will, instincts. 

2. The sensations : Some organic sensations, hunger, 
thirst, stifling, fatigue, exhilaration; special sensations, 
sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste. 

3. The sensuous feelings are those most closely asso- 
ciated with the senses. 

, 4. The emotions are complex feelings. 

■ 5. The egoistic emotions : Hope, fear, anger, grief, envy, 

jealousy, pride, love of praise, of possession, of self. 

6. The altruistic emotions: Sympathy, pity, love, hate, 
friendship, respect. 

i^ 7. The ideal emotions : Love of truth, of beauty, of God, 
of moral excellence ; reverence ; aesthetic pleasure. 

III. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

With what does the science of psychology have to do? 
In what sense only is it possible to define mind? 
What does the term "mind" as used in this chapter comprehend? 
What do we mean by consciousness? What of its complex nature? 
What are the three principal modes of the mind's action? 
Give your own definition of intellect. 
What can you say of the sensations? 

Give your own definition of perception; of memory; of a concept; of im- 
agination; of judgment; of reasoning; of feeling. 
What are the sensuous feelings? The emotions? 

Describe the difference between the egoistic and the altruistic emotions. 
What are the sentiments ? 

Why are the feelings important in religious education? 
What do you understand the will to be? Estimate its importance. 
Why may the mind not be divided into faculties? 
What can you say of the basis of religion in human nature? 

IV. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. A Glance at the Mind. 

I.W.H.W. Chap. III. 

2. The Development of Germinal Traits. 

I.W.H.W. pp. 24-27. 
II. In the Library 

1. The Stream of Consciousness. 

James, Talks to Teachers, Chap. II. 

2. What Our Minds Have in Common. 

Baldwin, The Story of the Mind, Chap. II. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 169 



CHAPTER XXIII 

GROWTH 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. KNOWLEDGE OF THE PUPIL 

(i) Its Importance. The Sunday school has to do with free 
beings who are in the process of becoming, and who have individ- 
ual characteristics. Our interest is not in forcing these boys and 
girls to do certain things, but in aiding them to become fully devel- 
oped persons, who will do the right of their own choice, conscious 
of why they are so doing, and loving so to do because it is the 
will of the Father who made them free. That we may be qualified 
to render this aid it is of first importance that we understand the 
being with whom we deal. We are not likely to be able to give 
any large amount of assistance, or to give it when it is most needed, 
if we work in the darkness of ignorance. Because of what has been 
done by others in the field of child study (see p. xxvii), it is easily 
possible for every teacher to have a fair degree of understanding 
of his pupils. 

(2) The Method of the Science. Child study, in common with 
all modern science, studies its subject in the light of its history as a 
growing thing. It seeks to understand the fully developed and com- 
plex object through a study of its simple beginnings and its develop- 
ment to higher forms. It goes back as near as possible to absolute 
origins and seeks to trace development. Thus the concept of de- 
velopment is a ruling idea in the scientific study of the child. 

2. GROWTH A FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT 

(i) The Fact of Growth. The child grows. This is first of all 
a fact to be recognized. If the child is normal, from the moment 
of conception till full adult life has been attained growth is con- 
tinual. Growth is accampanied by development. The two are not 
the same. Speaking in terms of the physical, growth is simply 
increase in size, while development involves an interior change, 
a change in the very nature of the tissues. Growth is the natural 
result of taking food ; development results from food plus exercise. 
Growth is quantitative ; development is qualitative. Children are 
not merely smaller than men and women; they are different crea- 



I70 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

tures/ They not only have less strength ; they have far less ability 
to use what strength is theirs. They are undeveloped. The infant 
possesses in germ all that goes to make up a complete man. It 
remains for education, used in the broad sense of including environ- 
ment and nurture, to decide what is to develop and what is to 
atrophy. 

(2) The Significance of Growth. The child grows. The 
significance of this fact, in all its bearings, is so great that it can 
scarcely be realized. It may help us to a realization if we consider 
some of its descriptive characteristics : 

a. Growth Is a Vital Process. Growth is a certain manifesta- 
tion of that mysterious something which we call life. Haslett well 
says, "A careful study of growth will teach us more about life than 
any other subject of research." Children grow because they are 
alive. It is sometimes carelessly remarked that the walls of a 
house undergoing construction are growing in size. This is a mis- 
use of the word. No mechanical process may properly be spoken 
of as growth. Growth takes place only where there is life. The 
child has a living personality. We cannot help him by putting on 
layer after layer of facts as a bricklayer builds a wall. Molding the 
clay, hewing the block, building the temple, are dull and inadequate 
figures when applied to the teacher's work. 

b. Growth Proceeds According to Law. Growth is not an arbi- 
trary process. Life has its fixed laws of growth and development. 
These laws may be known. The purpose of religious psychology is 
to give us an understanding of the laws of development in order 
that we may work in accord with them. The child may be injured 
through neglect; he may also be injured by making unreasonable 
demands upon him. The chapters of this text which immediately 
follow aim to give a description of how personality grows in order 
that we may help and not hinder its growth. 

c. Growth Is an Unfolding From Within. It proceeds from 
within outward. It results from outer stimulation of inner possi- 
bilities. The primary hope of development lies not in anything 
without the organism, but in hidden potencies. We aid development 
most by providing the conditions which are favorable to growth, 
and by supplying the kind of nourishment which can be appro- 
priated within. 

d. Growth Makes Education Possible. Without life there can 
be no education. Educational effort would be entirely wasted if it 



^"The child is no more a pocket edition of a man than a tadpole is a minia- 
ture frog." Tyler. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 171 

were not for the tendency of living things to grow. Since growth is 
far more rapid in the early years of life, education is then most 
potent. In the beginnings of growth there is always a high degree 
of flexibility and plasticity. Adjustment is easy. Direction may 
readily be imparted. These conditions also greatly increase the pos- 
sible potency of early education. 

e. Growth Guarantees Value to Education. Growth is the 
natural and normal thing when there is life. Education assists 
development, but the tendency to grow guarantees that education 
will not be without result. The teacher labors with certain hope 
because nature underwrites his every effort. 

The concept of growth applied to man as a religious being is the 
most signiUcayit and fruitful mental possession possible for religious 
work. It is not new. Jesus made use of it when he said, "First the 
blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." Its significance 
is more deeply appreciated because of the scientific study of the 
child. 

(3) Growth As a Process. 

a. The Course of Growth. Thinking of the entire course trav- 
ersed by the living being from its origin to maturity, growth may 
be said to be continuous. It proceeds with varying rates of move- 
ment. It is most rapid during the first years and in general may be 
said to decrease as the years pass. It is not uniform in different 
parts of the body at any one time. Thinking of growth within 
certain periods of the individual's existence — as, for example, 
adolescence — it is subject to interruptions and is marked by crises. 
So with growth as applied to the acquirement of the bodily arts. 
The child gradually acquires ability to walk and talk, but the 
increase is not likely to be constant in either case. He may learn 
to stand alone, and even take a few steps by holding on to objects, 
then make no further progress for weeks. Afterward effort may 
be newly directed toward walking alone and rapid progress made. 
Meanwhile during the interval he may have learned to speak a 
number of words distinctly, or to combine several words in a 
sentence. 

b. The Crises of Growth. As growth proceeds, new, previously 
latent possibilities of the individual, from time to time reveal them- 
selves. These beginnings are always times of crisis. Neglect, or 
lack of proper care and nourishment at the start, dwarfs the new 
power, and cannot possibly be atoned for later. "A starved child- 
hood," says Mrs. Lamoreaux, "is always the prophecy of a stunted 
manhood, while life nourished in its beginning foretells vigorous 



172 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

maturity." This is equally true applied to the body, the intellect, 
the feelings, the will, or to the religious interests. 

3. FACTORS WHICH CONDITION GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 

There are three principal factors which condition growth and 
development : 

(i) Heredity. It may be said that heredity represents the net 
total of the influences of the past upon the individual. That it is a 
mighty force cannot be disputed. It restricts the power of all the 
other factors which condition growth. Like habit, it has both its 
good and evil side. The child who suffers the disability of evil par- 
entage has also an inheritance from a more remote past which 
mayhap brings to him in germ many of the stronger virtues of 
mankind. 

(2) Environment. By environment is meant one's surroundings, 
all the influences in the world about with which the individual is 
brought into contact. We speak of physical environment, meaning 
all conditions of place, such as the house in which one lives, the 
neighborhood, whether crowded city or desert waste, even the 
climate. Moral environment in turn includes all influences affecting 
moral life. Likewise we distinguish social environment and reli- 
gious environment. 

The importance of a right physical environment as affecting the 
growth of the body is now commonly realized. But everything 
which the child sees and hears and feels affects his moral and spir- 
itual growth also. The environment of persons, especially, is im- 
portant as profoundly affecting moral and religious grov/th. Per- 
sonality is nourished in unconscious ways by association with other 
strong, rich personalities. If the personal associations of the grow- 
ing life are not what they ought to be, much of the effect of other 
influences is certain to be lost, 

(3) Food. Every living thing requires food, and can grow only 
as food is supplied and assimilated, A primary means of assisting 
the process of growth, therefore, is by supplying food. Not alone 
the child's body, but his whole nature, is hungry and cries out for 
food. Our question becomes this: What can his nature assimilate? 
What kind of food will most effectively assist development? 

(4) Self-Activity. The living organism is endowed with the 
power of self-activity, of reacting to stimuli, of exercise. Without 
this, finally, growth would be impossible. Growth can take place 
only as the inner principle appropriates, makes use of, that which is 
brought to it. The possession of life signifies that the organism is 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 173 

sensitive, receptive, responsive. It reaches out, appropriates, assim- 
ilates, and thus grows. This power of self-activity is the funda- 
mental, basic essential of growth. Without it all other factors 
would avail nothmg. Growth and development may be said to 
have their primary basis, therefore, in the creative self-activity of 
the subject. Its superiority to the other factors is seen in that 
through self-activity the living being can change his environment, 
and likewise provide himself with food. 

4. CONTROL OF THE FACTORS OF DEVELOPMENT 

The child, as we have seen, is the subject of a multitude of influ- 
ences which play upon him from within and without. Some may 
be controlled, shaped, increased or decreased in amount or intensity. 
Some which have their seat within his nature, their root in the dim 
past, are beyond the reach of external control. Intelligent, purposed 
effort in controi of the factors of development, and in stimulation of 
self -activity, is greatly needed. This is nurture. It may be partici- 
pated in by home, school, and Sunday school. The latent possi- 
bilities of life are unmeasured. Every life may be richer and fuller 
than it is. What a person is at any stage of his existence depends 
upon what he was at the beginning, what his environment has 
brought to him, what food has been supplied, and what he has 
assimilated and made a part of himself by his reactions. 

5. PERIODS OF HUMAN LIFE 

Physiology and psychology have made it clear that the developing 
individual in the course of his life passes through a number of 
distinct periods. 

(i) Names and Limits of the Periods. 

a. Infancy. From one to two years. 

b. Childhood. From three to twelve years. This period is 
again divided into (a) Early Childhood; (b) Middle Childhood; 
and (c) Later Childhood. To these subdivisions correspond the 
three Elementary Departments of the Sunday school, namely. Be- 
ginners' (three to five years). Primary (six to eight years), and 
Junior (nine to twelve years). 

c. Youth, or Adolescence. From thirteen to about twenty-five 
years. Adolescence may be divided into (a) Early Adolescence; 
(b) Middle Adolescence ; and (c) Later Adolescence. To the first 
two of these subdivisions correspond the two Secondary Depart- 
ments of the Sunday school, namely. Intermediate (thirteen to 
sixteen years), and Senior (seventeen to twenty years). 

d. Adult Life. From about twenty-five years on. Adult life has 



174 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

more or less clearly defined divisions, but religious psychology is 
not especially concerned with these. 

The successive periods of development through childhood and 
youth will be taken up in consecutive chapters immediately follow- 
ing the present. 

(2) Periods Not Sharply Defined. Though the periods we have 
named are distinct they are not sharply divided. Each merges into 
the next following. The mother does not divine the exact day when 
the baby ceases to be an infant or when the boy crosses the thresh- 
old of youth. The changes which take place are gradual and in 
come cases their progress may not be clearly marked. 

(3) Individual Differences. While the periods named are com- 
mon to all human beings, and their limits approximately the same, 
individuality must not be overlooked. In studying about children 
we must not forget to study the child. Every child has his own 
personality, his own peculiar individual characteristics, and in some 
particular marks an exception to some general rule. In studying 
children we should look for exceptions as well as for conformity. 

II. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"One knew the joy the sculptor knows 

When, plastic to his lightest touch, 

His clay-wrought model slowly grows 

To that fine grace desired so much. 

"So daily grew before her eyes 

The living shapes whereon she wrought, 
Strong, tender, innocently wise, 

The child's heart with a woman's thought." 

— /. G. Whittier. 

1. Descriptive characteristics of growth : a. Is a Vital 
Process, b. Proceeds According to Law. c. Is an Unfold- 
ing from Within, d. Makes Education Possible, e. Guar- 
antees Value to Education. 

2. Factors which condition growth: a. Heredity, b. En- 
vironment, c. Nourishment, d. Self-activity. 

3. Periods of human life: a. Infancy, one to two years. 
b. Childhood, three to twelve years, divided into Early 
Childhood, four to five years (the Beginners' Department) ; 
Middle Childhood, six to eight years (the Primary Depart- 
ment) ; Later Childhood, nine to twelve years (the Junior 
Department), c. Adolescence, thirteen to twenty-five years, 
divided into Early Adolescence, thirteen to sixteen years 



OF TEACHER TRAINING I75 

(the Intermediate Department) ; Middle Adolescence, six- 
teen to twenty years (the Senior Department) ; Later 
Adolescence, twenty to twenty-five years, d. Adult Life, 
from twenty-five years on (the Adult Department). 

III. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON ' 

Why is knowledge of the pupil important? 
Tell what you can of the new science of child study. 
Distinguish religious psychology from general child study. 
What is the method of scientific child study? 
Distinguish between growth and development. 
What is the relation of life to growth ? 

What is meant by saying that growth is not an arbitrary process? 
Give other characteristics of growth and explain their significance. 
What is the importance of the concept of growth as applied to the religious 
nature of man? 

What can you say of the course of growth? 

What is meant by crises of growth? 

Name and describe each of the principal factors which condition growth. 

What is nurture? 

Name and give the age limits of the periods of human life. 

What is to be said of individual differences? 

IV. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

I. The Fact and Significance of Growth. 
S.W.H.W. Chap. I. 
II. In the Library 

1. Physical Growth and Development. 

Kirkpatrick, Fundamentals of Child Study, Chap. II. 

2. The Growth Process of Human Life. 

Griggs, Moral Education, Chap. IV. 

3. Some Principles of Development. 

Lamoreaux, The Unfolding Life, Chap. I. 



176 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XXIV 

ACTIVITY 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

The child is active. Always and everywhere he is doing some- 
thing. It is useless to bid him "Be still," He cannot. In mind and 
body he is organized for activity. Fichte declared that the most 
original thing in us is the impulse to action. We have it before we 
have a consciousness of the world. Every sensation tends to action. 
Watch a baby on the nursery floor; he reaches for everything that 
comes near, turns toward every sound he hears, raises everything 
he touches to his mouth. The law of action is wrought into the 
very fiber of our physical being. Says Weigle : ''The nervous system 
has been well defined as a mechanism for translating sensations into 
movements. Its function is to receive impressions from the outside 
world, and to respond to them with appropriate action." It is 
equally true that every idea is an impulse. Feeling also tends to 
action and may be said to be incomplete unless the action follows. 
The law holds in the still higher realm of moral and religious pur- 
poses; our souls even as our bodies are keyed to action. 

I. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ACTIVITY 

We saw in the preceding chapter that the child develops from 
within by self-activity. This shows how fundamental self-activity 
is in all education. It is not enough that the child shall act; his 
own creative self-activity must be developed. Education is not 
primarily a process of bestowing something from without upon a 
passive subject, but, rather, a purposed effort in stimulation of self- 
activity. We consider the significance of activity : 

(i) To Learning. Through self-activity the child appropriates 
what is brought to him. Food would be useless without the body's 
active process of assimilation. Similarly, the mind through self- 
activity makes the truth its own. Without activity there is no 
learning. The pupil does not first learn a thing and then express it 
in word or deed. The expression is itself a part of the process of 
acquisition. "No impression without expression." All real teach- 
ing evokes reactions. Teaching in the sense of pouring facts into 
a passive receptacle is an impossible process. 

(2) To Character. Through self-activity and conduct character 



OF TEACHER TRAINING ' 177 

is achieved. The verb tells the story. Character is achieved, not 
bestowed. Achievement requires action. It is not enough that our 
pupils think true thoughts, have religious sentiments, and give 
mental assent to high purposes. That which is not expressed dies. 
Unless thought, feeling, and purpose work out into action they do 
not affect character. To the psychologist, character is what a man 
habitually does. The common view is that character determines 
conduct; that what a child does depends upon the kind of a child 
he is, and there is a sense in which this is true ; but to the teacher 
the significant thing is that action comes first in the child's life, and 
that what the child does, that he becomes. 

(3) To Personality. It is personality that distinguishes us on 
the one hand from the lower orders, and on the other from every 
other individual in the universe. The child is an immature person. 
The person comes to self-realisation through activity. "We must 
never forget," says President King, "that the whole aim of moral 
and religious education is to bring the individual to a faith and life 
of his own." We have more to do than to train pupils ; horses and 
dogs can be readily trained in useful actions. We desire free, 
voluntary, right conduct. This is attained only through encourag- 
ing the pupil in freedom of expression ; not merely to repeat words 
or statements of truth, but to react freely to the material presented 
to him and thus to express himself. "Religious and moral educa- 
tion," says Professor Coe, "cannot be anything less than the pro- 
gressive attainment of freedom through the exercise of freedom; 
and its method can be nothing less than placing the child in a 
series of such concrete situations as shall reveal him to himself 
as really interested in the good and self-enlisted on its side." ^ 

(4) To Christian Discipleship. The Christian life is one of 
service. Jesus's word was, "If any man would be my disciple, let 
him do." In how many ways he sought to impress the necessity 
of action ! We are his followers, his servants, his fellow laborers, 
his coworkers. The world to us is a field, a garden, a vineyard, a 
market place. Christ calls us not to passivity but to action. 

. 2. THE CONTROL OF ACTIVITY 

(i) The Achievement of Self-Control. To return to the baby in 
the nursery. As we watch him, unconscious of our presence, he is 
in a very turmoil of activity. Attention is fixed on any one thing 
only for a moment. He drops one toy to pick up another. If a 
brighter object passes near he tries eagerly to seize it, A loud noise 



^Education in Religion and Morals, p. 135, 



178 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

distracts his attention from everything near at hand. If he feels a 
pang of hunger he immediately insistently demands its satisfaction. 
One thing at a time occupies his mind and it is translated at once 
into action. To bring order out of this riot of action is one of the 
highest purposes of religious nurture. It is the root stuff from 
which intelligence, character, personality, and the acceptable service 
of God and man must come. These can come in one way only — 
through the achievement of self-control. This is the necessary 
means to all that is desirable in our religious effort with the child. 
It is the child's own problem ; no other can work it out for him, but 
it is the high privilege of parent and teacher to cooperate with him 
in working it out. 

(2) The Teacher's Attitude toward Activity. It is clear that 
the teacher must look with sympathy upon the activity of the pupil. 
It is certain to be a source of perplexity; often the teacher will be 
at his wits' end because of some of its manifestations, but he must 
remember that without it all his efforts would be useless. His con- 
stant problem, and his greatest, will be how to utilize the activity 
of the pupil. Ways and means he must find. The fatal blunder, 
distressingly common, even to-day, in all schools is the effort toward 
repression. The one word the teacher must absolutely rule out of 
his vocabulary is "don't." He will succeed just in proportion to his 
ability to eliminate "don't" and to use "do." 

(3) The Necessity of the Direction of Activity. Again we 
emphasize the necessity of the direction of activity on the part of 
the Sunday school. The work of Sunday, so limited in time, will be 
totally insufficient unless it is supplemented by entering into the 
daily life of the pupil. "Starved longings, unrealized desires, over- 
flowing animal spirits without legitimate outlet, unbalanced natures 
destitute of training in self-control, impoverished aspirations — these 
are what lie at the foundation of the social problem which the 
reformer has to solve, and no remedy which does not take all of 
these into consideration will ever be permanently efficacious." ^ 
This is a strong statement and a true one, and it remains quite as 
true if the word "religious" be substituted for "social." 

3. HOW ACTION ARISES 

Activity analyzed becomes a series of particular actions. In con- 
sidering the teacher's work in stimulating self-activity, and in 
directing expression in action, it becomes important for us to 
know how action arises, or what its constituent elements are. Iti 



^M. B. Dunn, quoted by King, Rational Living, p. 152. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 179 

an introductory chapter we saw that the movements of the newborn 
infant were instinctive reflexes. The domination of instinct con- 
tinues throughout the years of early childhood. Instinctive actions 
repeated become habitual. Thus during middle and later childhood 
habit enters into action as an element of great importance. Before 
this period has passed, free, voluntary action has become possible, 
and thus will becomes a third chief element in action. From this 
time on any particular action may be said to arise as the result of 
instinct, habit, and will, each of the three being present as an influ- 
ential factor. 

(i) Instinct. The child comes into existence with certain definite 
tendencies wrought into its very being; these natural tendencies we 
call instincts. They are the result in part of the accumulated expe- 
rience of the race; they are colored by the life and character of 
immediate ancestors ; and, finally, they represent variations in indi- 
vidual endowment. An action is wholly instinctive if the child does 
not require to learn it ; of this the most obvious example is sucking. 
It is partly instinctive if he does not need to acquire the tendency 
to do it; of these a long list might be given, such as the climbing 
of trees by boys. Any exact classification of the instincts is diffi- 
cult, and is a matter upon which psychologists are by no means 
agreed. A simple and very satisfactory working classification is 
given by Kirkpatrick.^ Its basis is the uses which the instincts 
serve. It is as follows : 

a. Individualistic or "Self- Preservative Instincts. These have 
for their chief ends the securing of food and the avoidance or defeat 
of enemies. They may also be designated the feeding, fearing, and 
■fighting instincts. 

b. Parental Instincts, These are for the purpose of reproduc- 
tion and care for the young. Love between persons of opposite sex, 
and love of parent for child, are the result of this instinct. It comes 
to full developm<;nt only in adolescence, but its beginning may be 
seen in the little child's love for dolls and for younger children. 

c. Group or Social Instincts. These find their more primitive 
uses in cooperation for attack and defense, and higher uses in 
various forms of unselfish service for the good of the group as a 
whole, or of individual members of it. As the outgrowth of these 
instincts we have sympathy, sociability, altruism, and in the opposite 
direction rivalry, jealousy, envy, pride, and ambition. 

d. Adaptive Instincts These take the form of imitation, play, 
and curiosity. They bring the child into closer contact with his 

^Fundamentals of Child Study, Chap. IV. 



i8o FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

environment and help him to adapt himself to it. They are especially 
full of significance to the teacher. 

e. Regulative Instincts. These represent the tendencies to con- 
form to law, and to worship. They are the instinctive basis of 
morality and religion in man. 

f. Miscellaneous Instincts. Under this head are included all 
the instincts not otherwise classified. A complete, detailed enumer- 
ation would make a long list. Some, frequently noticed in chil- 
dren, are the tendencies to form collections ; the strong sense of 
ownership ; the inclination to construct and to destroy ; the desire 
to express feelings and ideas to others ; the impulse to self-adorn- 
ment and to possess beautiful things. 

The instincts must not be thought of as rigid or unchangeable 
predispositions to certain kinds of action. All instincts are flexible 
and are subject to regulation and control. For the most part they 
are simply tendencies to general kinds of action. They need to be 
supplemented by direction, experience, and training. They have 
their periods of natural growth, and if not then developed, they die 
out. These periods are different for different instincts. Some in- 
stincts are present at birth ; others do not manifest themselves until 
late adolescence or possibly, in some few cases, mature life. The ap- 
pearance of a new instinct invariably points the way either to an 
important need of repression or to a significant opportunity of 
nurture and development. 

(2) Habit. The first and most important distinction between 
instinct and habit is that instinct is inherited while habit is acquired. 
There are no inherited habits. 

a. The Physical Basis of Habit. We acquire habits in conse- 
quence of the plastic condition of the material of our nervous 
systems. Plastic nerve cells are modified through use. Professor 
James puts it in this way : "A nerve cell that has once acted is so 
affected that it more readily acts again in the same way. Thus 
any connection which has once been made by the transmission of a 
nerve impulse from one cell to another is the more easily made a 
second time, until through repetition a well-worn pathway has been 
established." 

b. The Wide and Beneficent Application of the Law of Habit. 
Habit is of significance for all living, for our virtues quite as much 
as our vices are forms of habitual action. Indeed, Professor James 
has stated that "ninety-nine hundredths, or, possibly, nine hundred 
and ninety-nine thousandths, of our activity is purely automatic and 
habitual, from our rising in the morning to our lying down each 



OF TEACHER TRAINING i8i 

night." Even our instincts are in part explained as inherited 
ancestral habits. We have habits of thinking and feeling. In fact, 
any connection, "nervous or mental, between impressions, ideas, 
thought, memories, feelings, movements," once made tends to recur. 

The law of habit is nature's principle of economy. Without this 
provision we would be forever taken up with the most simple and 
elementary motions, a lifetime occupied with petty beginnings, never 
learning, never progressing; but, thanks to habit, as soon as any- 
thing has been done a few times, its repetition becomes a mechan- 
ical matter requiring the absolute minimum of time, thought, and 
effort, and the mind is left free to engage in new enterprises. 

c. Habit and Action. Habit and action are interdependent. 
Since ancestral habits give us our first actions, there is no action 
into which habit does not enter, while repeated actions form new 
habits. The teacher must bear in mind that habits are built up out 
of repeated actions, not out of preachings, exhortations, or emotions. 
There is only one way to form a good habit in the pupil — lead him 
to do the thing once, and again, and again, and again. 

(3) Will. In a previous glance at the will (p. 167) we saw that 
its chief function is in relation to action, but that it cannot be 
sharply separated from instinct and habit. Nevertheless, something 
more enters into the determination of action than instinct and habit, 
even if we add to these idea (thought) and desire (feeling). 
This additional element is will. 

a. The Importance of Will. Tremendous significance lies in 
the will's power of choice. There are always alternatives of action, 
and sometimes supreme consequences hinge on the choice between 
them. Beyond mere choosing, the will enforces its choice. We can- 
not agree with the all too prevalent teaching that reduces will to 
zero. Rather let us say with Preyer that "the human will is the 
greatest power in earth," and with Lecky, "Nothing which is learned 
in youth is so really valuable as the power and habit of self- 
restraint, of self-sacrifice, of energetic, continuous, and concentrated 
effort. . . . Character lies preeminently in the sphere of the will ; 
he who would achieve much in the moral life must be capable of 
mighty purposes and mighty endeavors." 

b. The Training of Will. The training of the will is not some- 
thing that can be accomplished apart from instruction, for one's 
ability to do the right depends upon the presence of clearly per- 
ceived alternatives. All teaching that widens one's range of ideas, 
and acquaints him with additional possibilities of action, directly 
aids the will. So also with feeling, for by it the will is influenced. 



i82 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

If the affections are set on things right and true, the will turns 
strongly toward them. 

c. The Direction of Will in Specific Situations. If, now, it 
be asked how, in addition to instruction and the nurture of feeling, 
we may prevail upon our pupils to will to do the right, this answer 
is to be made : Hold the desirable course persistently before the 
mind. Every idea is an impulse to action. It is the idea which is 
persistently held before the mind that passes into action. The wise 
teacher seldom refers to undesirable courses of action ; he uses 
all his resources to keep the desirable course in the focus of atten- 
tion. If you can keep your pupil continually thinking of the right, 
there is no question as to what he will do. 

The outstanding weakness of our Sunday school work in the 
past has been the predominance of exhortation. The lesson of this 
chapter may be summed up in the statement of James : "Don't preach 
too much to your pupils or abound in good talk in the abstract. 
Lie in wait rather for the practical opportunities, be prompt to 
seize those as they pass, and thus at one operation get your pupils 
both to think, to feel, and to do. The strokes of behavior are what 
give the new set to the character and work the good habits into 
its organic tissue, [while] preaching and talking too soon become 
an ineffectual bore." ^ 

IL CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

Considering again the Sunday school which you know 
best, write answers to the following questions : 

1. Does the effort seem to be to repress activity or to 
direct it? 

2. Make a Hst of some of the habits which are being 
formed by pupils in the school. 

3. Select some specific class and, stating the age of the 
pupils, write a list of the habits you would try to form in 
them if you were the teacher. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. The significance of activity: Through activity the child 
learns; achieves character; comes to personal self-realiza- 
tion ; obeys Jesus's law of service. 

2. The control of activity : The pupil's part — achievement 
of self-control ; the teacher's part — the utilization of activity 

^Talks to Teachers, p. ji. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 183 

in imparting instruction ; the school's part — the direction of 
activity through seven days. 

3. The instincts classified according to their uses : a. In- 
dividuahstic ; b. Parental; c. Group; d. Adaptive; e. Regu- 
lative; f. Miscellaneous. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Why may we not bid the child be still? 

Explain how the law of action is wrought into the fiber of our being. 
Why may education not proceed by bestowing something on the pupil? 
What is the significance of activity to learning? to character? to per- 
sonality? to Christian discipleship? 

What is the importance of the achievement of self-control? 

What should be the teacher's attitude toward activity? 

Why, now, do you think the direction of activity is important? 

What three things lie at the root of particular actions? 

Name the classes of instincts and tell the use of each. 

Explain the physical basis of habit. 

To what part of life does the law of habit apply? 

How are habit and action related? 

What can you say of the importance of will? 

What is involved in the training of the will ? 

How, in a specific situation, may a pupil be led to do the right? 

What is the substance of the warning quoted from Professor James? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

I. The Higher Forms of Expression. 
I.W.H.W. Chap. IX. 
II. In the Library 

1. Nurture by Exercise. 

The Natural Way, Du Bois, Chap. VI. 

2. The Necessity for Action. 

Personal and Ideal Elements in Education, King, pp. 1 19-126. 

3. The Instincts. 

Fundamentals of Child Study, Kirkpatrick, Chap. IV; or Talks to 
Teachers, James, Chap. VII. 



l84 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XXV 

EARLY CHILDHOOD 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

The child from his birth to about six years passes through two 
periods of his life — infancy and early childhood. ^JtLq comes into 
active membership in the Sunday school in early childhood, usually 
when he is between three and four years old. 

I. THE LITTLE CHILD'S WORLD 

The little child lives in a world of his own ; first of all, a world 
of sensations rather than of ideas ; secondly, a world of fancy more 
than of fact. It is a very real world to him. We should remember 
that this child's world is just as unreal and unknown to the average 
adult, who has forgotten his own childhood, as the adult person's 
world is strange and unknown to the child. It is a very narrow, 
circumscribed kind of universe, for the child has almost no idea of 
time, space, or values, yet such as it is he lives in the very center 
of it. Buzzer is four; the family reside in a big, beautiful apart- 
ment building; to Buzzer and his playmate, Gordon, the hundred- 
thousand-dollar apartment is simply "Buzzer's house." Gordon 
lives in Chicago and his grandmother in Los Angeles, yet he talks 
of going over to see grandmother as though it were a journey of a 
few blocks. To become familiar wth the child's world will greatly 
help us in our work of nurture. As we become acquainted with 
the characteristics of the little child we should seek to reconstruct 
his world for ourselves. 

2. THE LITTLE CHILD IN HIS WORLD 

(i) Chief Characteristics. 

a. He Is Self-Centered. The instincts of self-preservation de- 
velop first; the social and altruistic instincts are latent until a 
later period. Nature provides that desire shall center in the satis- 
faction of physical appetite. It likewise teaches him to protect him- 
self and his simple possessions. A sense of ownership develops 
early and is intense. In defending himself and his possessions he is 
likely to manifest anger, possibly even fierce passion. These qual- 
ities are not to be placed in the same category with the selfishness 
and quarrelsomeness of the mature person. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 185 

b. Physical Activity. The little child is incessantly active. His 
muscles require a large amount of exercise. His w^hole physical 
being is keyed to motion. It is an impossibility, if he is physically 
normal, for him to keep absolutely still for more than a few 
seconds at a time. His activity is like steam ; forced confinement 
inevitably results in an explosion. There is no v^ay to decrease it 
except to dampen the fire ; no way to stop it except to put the fire 
out. The child's senses crave satisfaction, and his sensations and 
physical activity interact. It is by activity that he gets new sensa- 
tions. The new sensations in turn stimulate him to new activity. 
Thus he comes very near representing perpetual motion. He has 
not yet Achieved voluntary control ; to scold or blame him for his 
activity is to do him a wrong. His activity is not restlessness, as 
it is so often called ; it is nature's means of bringing him physical, 
mental, and moral development. 

The child's activity principally takes the form of play. With the 
child play is spontaneous ; it is the form in which his ideas express 
themselves. It is joyous, often exuberant, yet it is with him fre- 
quently a serious, meaningful activity. It is intense ; the child puts 
his whole self into his play. In play we see children most nearly 
as they are. It is significant that the natural plays of children 
involve activities and train muscles which will be of use in later 
life. Thus play is of real value as preparation for life itself. Said 
Froebel : *'Play holds the sources of all that is good. . . . The 
spontaneous play of the child discloses the future inner life of the 
man." 

c. Urgent^ Eager Senses. Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, 
touching are very active and crave exercise. The senses naturally 
develop before the higher powers of the mind, as reasoning and 
judgment; now, if ever, they must become keen, accurate, and dis- 
criminating. In the beginning of the period observation, especially, 
is not accurate. Many misstatements of the child are simply the 
result of inaccurate observation. 

d. Imagination. The imagination of the child is likely to be 
exceedingly active, unregulated, crude, and wildly fanciful. As 
anyone who has told stories to children knows, the tale of fairies 
or pygmies is quite as real to the child mind, and far more interest- 
ing, than any mere chronicle of everyday events. Much of the 
pleasure of his childhood grows out of the transforming power of 
his imagination. A tiny blanket, tightly rolled and tied about one 
end with a string, to Eloise becomes a most beautiful doll. What 
young prince of fortune ever had a more glorious ride in his 



i86 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

luxurious car than John, son of an artisan, who rides across the 
floor astride a prancing steed, his father's cane? His fancy is so 
rich that there is no need for any likeness between the symbol and 
the thing for which it stands. The creatures of the child's own 
imagination are often just as real as the people whom he meets 
on the street ; indeed, he m.ay make no distinction between the im- 
aginative objects and the real. 

e. Animism. The child has a marked tendency to endow the 
familiar objects of his world with spirit and personality. He 
imputes to things such a life as he himself possesses. The trees, 
the flowers, the doll, the toy animal, or the tin soldier possess life 
and feel as he feels. This trait he holds in common with primitive 
man, to whom the stones and trees and rivers seemed alive. 

f. Suggestibility. The little child is suggestible. He is also 
credulous. He seeks knowledge and he is ready to believe any- 
thing that is told him. His mind is a sponge, taking in everything 
which comes its way without discrimination. As we have seen, 
suggestions work out into activity. His means of judging what is 
true and what is right are very slight; his power to check his im- 
pulses is undeveloped. We should be very careful, therefore, about 
blaming him for zvrong actions or false statements. He should be 
guarded with much care that no wrong suggestions or false state- 
ments are made to him. We may make good use of suggestion in 
religious teaching. We cannot teach reverence, and worship in 
giving, by receiving the child's offering into the head of a ridiculous 
iron image that makes an absurd bow every time a penny is dropped 
into it. The writer knows one school which has had such a device 
in use so long that the paint is all rubbed off by much handling. 

g. Imitation. This is closely related to the characteristic last 
noted ; probably it is a modified form of the same thing. It is con- 
sidered one of the most marked instincts of early childhood. It 
signifies that the child is trying to get the experience, strange to 
him, of the person whom he is observing. It is an evidence that his 
mind is active. The significance of imitation for religious education 
is very great. It is this which makes example so large a part of 
teaching. The teacher's class become what the teacher is. "Life 
grows like what it imitates. Habit is the outcome of repeated 
imitation." It is the tremendous task of religious nurture to see 
that nothing takes place in the sight of a little child which 
it is undesirable to have him reenact in his own life ; that no trait 
be exhibited before him which would not be desirable in his own 
character. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 187 

h. Curiosity. Here, again, we see the expression of an important 
and insistent instinct. It is first associated with the senses. "I 
wanted to see what it tasted like," said Gordon, in explanation of 
an uncorked bottle. When it has run the gamut of the senses it 
assumes a higher form ; it becomes rational curiosity and utters 
itself in the endless repetition of ''Why?" "How?" "What for?" 
The mischievousness and destructiveness of the boy is simply a 
manifestation of the instinct of curiosity. The father who punishes 
his little son for taking the alarm clock to pieces is putting a 
premium on dullness. The sympathetic, intelligent answer to the 
questions of the child mind is one of the supreme opportunities of 
all education. Let curiosity be fostered, not repressed ; the spirit of 
inquiry turned to highest use. Before the close of the Beginner's 
period the child has begun to ask profound and farreaching ques- 
tions. It is a calamity if he is given superficial and ridiculous 
answers. Economy in this most valuable process, religious educa- 
tion, demands that the child be not taught as truths at this time 
what he will have to unlearn later. 

(2) The Little Child's Intellect. The child's mind is a unity, 
but we are aided in knowing him through considering separately 
its activities in thinking, feeling, and willing. 

Through the doorway of the senses many perceptions are enter- 
ing the mind during these years. Up to six years the child gets 
more new ideas than in all the remainder of his life. He reasons in 
his own simple, childish way. He is constantly accumulating the 
concrete data which he will use later in his thinking. Innumerable 
impressions are being made in the brain, but he possesses little 
power to recall them ; that is, memory is weak. This does not 
mean that they are not lasting ; on the contrary, he will carry many 
of them with him to old age. When experiences of late years have 
been forgotten these impressions of the first years will be vivid and 
strong. 

(3) The Little Child's Feeling. In the little child feeling 
dominates over thought and will. Moreover, the feelings that are 
most closely associated with the child's physical nature are the 
earliest to develop, and during this period are the strongest and 
most persistent. These are such as hunger, thirst, fear, and pain. 
Another group of feelings associated with the characteristic of the 
child as self-centered, develop early. Such are self-pity, self-love, 
and self-approbation. The social emotions have their beginnings in 
this period, but develop slowly and are superficial. All of the feel- 
ings, while often intense, are short-lived. They come and pass 



i88 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

more quickly than a summer shower. The little child is peculiarly 
liable to tormenting fears ; they may arise from slight suggestions, 
thoughtlessly made. He should be protected against them. 

Certain other feelings which are prominent in the little child are 
of special significance for religion. He strongly feels his depend- 
ence and is trustful and confiding. He is filled with a sense of 
wonder and of awe. He is affectionate, and his love grows rapidly. 

(4) The Little Child's Will. In its beginnings, will is simply 
the effort of attention. The little child has almost no power to 
check his impulses or to direct attention. He does not set one 
course of action over against another and deliberately choose 
between them. His desire may so completely hold his attention to 
one thing that nothing else comes before him. What we call the 
child's stubbornness is often accounted for by the crude and mistaken 
way the adult has of dealing with him. To repeatedly tell a little 
child not to do a thing centers his attention upon it and makes it 
well-nigh impossible for him not to do it. 

3. TWO CHIEF TYPES OF MIND 

In characteristics of their mental life children may be variously 
divided into groups in which all the members have certain char- 
acteristics in common. A classification based upon two broad and 
general ways of activity of the nervous system is important, fre- 
quently referred to, and should be familiar to all teachers : 

(i) The Sensory-Minded Child. A child of this type is passive, 
inert, quiet, reflective. He is undemonstrative and seems timid. 
Inhibition is excessive and power to will deficient. He is likely to 
be thought dull, even stupid. The need is for more frequent 
expression. He should be stimulated to act. Kindergarten methods 
are serviceable, since they make movement easy and develop self- 
confidence. Constant effort should be made to get the sensory child 
to talk, to act as a leader ; to take the active part. 

(2) The Motor-Minded Child. This type of child is impulsive, 
quickly responsive, overactive. Inhibition with him is deficient; 
his will is of the hair-trigger type. He needs to be stimulated to 
read, study, and reflect. It is idle to attempt control by com- 
mands or threats; the negative command is in itself to him a sug- 
gestion to action. Make assignments which require care and 
thought, observation and discrimination. 

These two types of mind represent broadly two types of religious 
life and experience, the first a religion of feeling, of introspection; 
the latter a religion of deeds. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 189 

4. THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF THE BEGINNER 
(i) Moral Training. In the early part of this period the child 
has very little moral consciousness ; for this reason there is no moral 
or immoral quality in his actions. His ideas of right and wrong 
are gradually formed, more by what is permitted and what is for- 
bidden him to do than by abstract ideas. He copies the actions of 
his parents, brothers and sisters, and playmates. His character 
will tend to be of the same quality as what he sees and hears. 
Moral training consists in surrounding him with right examples and 
influences and in encouraging and strengthening his good instincts. 
If he shows evil tendencies, we may use the good instincts to crowd 
out and to overcome the bad. We make him what we want him 
to become, not by outer restraint or compulsion, but by developing 
the good within him. 
(2) Religious Nurture. 

a. Environment. The most important service to be rendered 
consists in making his surroundings and associations as nearly ideal 
from the religious standpoint as possible. As never again in his life 
the impressions made upon him become a part of himself. Un- 
consciously, continually, he absorbs what he is brought into con- 
tact with. 

b. Instruction. Instruction should deal principally with concrete 
things rather than with abstract ideas. The little child cannot 
understand truth expressed in abstract terms. Though he mem- 
orize the words they mean nothing to him nor do they help him. 
He should be taught about God ; not about the being and attributes 
of God which he is incapable of understanding, but of God the 
Father, and of his gracious and loving activities in the world of 
nature and of man. It is cruel and irreligious to represent God to 
the little child as a big policeman. It is perfectly easy for the 
child to believe that God strikes bad children dead with lightning, 
but what effect will such teaching have upon the child in after 
years? Instruction should strive to minister to the interests of the 
child; his questions reveal real needs of his mind and should be 
simply, briefly, and frankly answered. It should be conveyed prin- 
cipally in story form. The little child craves stories, and if they are 
simple and imaginative, full of action, and related to his own ex- 
perience, they will appeal strongly to him and influence him pro- 
foundly. Nature teaching is valuable. The training of the senses 
is important, for, as Comenius said, "There is nothing in the mind 
that is not first in the senses." 

c. Nurture of the Feelings. The natural awe and reverence of 



190 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

the little child, the feeling of trust, the beginnings of love — these 
may and should be carefully nurtured. The music, hymns wisely 
chosen, the act of prayer, the whole atmosphere of the room, the 
lesson story, above all the example of the teachers will be the means 
to be relied upon. Commands, in abstract terms, will have little or 
no effect. Their meaning is not understood. For example, the 
injunction, "Be reverent," repeated a dozen times, will not go as far 
toward arousing the desired feeling in the child as the suggestion 
of reverence in the look and attitude of the teacher. Since the feel- 
ings of little children are easily aroused, excess is possible and 
should be guarded against. 

d. Training of the Will. This is, first of all, a matter of direct- 
ing the attention ; it should almost never be allowed to involve a 
conflict of will between teacher and child. // attentian is habitually 
directed in right zvays a will is built up to do the thing that ought 
to be done. 

(3) Direction of Activity. The child should be aided to 
express in action the truth presented to his mind. There is no 
permanent impression without expression. The form of expres- 
sion may be very simple ; very often it may be made a part of the 
activities of the department session — the essential thing is that some 
way be found of giving expression in action to the truth. The 
child's play instinct will point the way in our efforts to minister 
to him. He will be delighted to play the part of a little lamb, a 
bird, a raindrop or a flower, and through play he learns. 

(4) Results to be Expected. The religious life of little children 
under six may seem to the adult vague and indefinite. This is as 
would be expected. It is primitive and childlike because it is his 
own. He is a little child, not an adult. We will look in vain for 
evidences which we require in the adult, such as sympathy, unself- 
ishness, repentance, and forgiveness. Nevertheless the little child in 
whose life the conditions of nurture named above have been met 
will live in fellowship with the spiritual. He will believe himself 
to be a child of God. Since God is his loving Father, he is God's 
child. By instinct and imagination and teaching and example the 
religious life will appear very simple and natural to him. It will 
be beautiful in its simplicity and sincerity. He will begin to love 
because he has an affectionate nature. He will trust because he is 
told that God is trustworthy. He will be joyful because God has 
given him so many things richly to enjoy. He will be obedient 
and kind, and will begin to feel the meaning of duty. He will be a 
child with a child's limitations. We would not have him be any- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 191 

thing else. We will be patient with him, remembering that pre- 
cocity is abnormal. Fruit which ripens before its time is most 
likely wormeaten at the heart. 

5. THE BEGINNER'S DEPARTMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOL 

(i) Organization. Wherever there is more than one class of 
Beginners there should be a Beginners' superintendent. Where size 
of the school and facilities permit the Beginners to meet separately 
there should be an organized Beginners' Department. Officers 
needed in addition to a superintendent : assistant, secretary, pianist. 

(2) Facilities and Equipment. The Beginners need a room to 
themselves, large enough to afford opportunity for marching and 
other class exercises. It should be easily accessible, light and airy, 
with a floor covering of linoleum or cork carpet, and furnished 
with low chairs. It should have provision for hanging the outer 
wraps of the children. The room should be rendered attractive by 
soft tinted walls, curtained windows, and choice pictures, such as 
"The Good Shepherd" and ''Christ Blessing Little Children." 
Other equipment needed includes low tables, cabinet or bookcase for 
books, crayons, records, receptacles for offerings, papers, cards, and 
other supplies, and a blackboard. Everything about the room should 
be as well kept and orderly as a living room in a home of refinement. 

(3) The Program. The Beginners should not participate in 
the opening or closing program of the main school except on very 
unusual and special occasions. The Beginners' Department pro- 
gram should be characterized by simplicity and variety in the 
character of the exercises, and by frequent change. There should 
be much action. Almost all little children enjoy music and rhyth- 
mical motion. A good deal of the time should be given to music. 
Motion songs should be used. All songs should be simple, espe- 
cially composed for children, and new songs should be used from 
time to time. Make sure that the children know the meaning of the 
words they use. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Take for comparison some four or five-year-old child 
whom you know very well: What characteristics described 
in this chapter have you seen in him? Wherein is the 
characterization untrue ? 

2. Considering again the Sunday school which you know 
best: Write a statement on the excellencies and the defects 
of its Beginners' Department in the light of this lesson. 



192 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

3. Wherein could the Beginners' Department room and 
its equipment be improved? 

4. Describe the best Beginners' Department you have 
ever seen, apart from your own. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, 
The earth and every common sight. 
To me did seem appareled in celestial light — 
The glory and the freshness of a dream." 

— William Wordsworth. 

- I. Chief characteristics of the Beginner: a. Self-centered; 
b. Physical Activity; c. Urgent, Eager Senses; d. Im- 
agination; e. Animism; f. Suggestibility; g. Imitation; h. 
Curiosity. 

2. Two Chief Types of Children: a. Sensory-minded; 
b. Motor-minded. 

3. Religious Education of the Beginner: (i) Moral 
Training — surroundings and examples right, good instincts 
strengthened. (2) Religious nurture — a. Surroundings 
and associations ideal ; b. Instruction, concrete teaching, 
about the Father and about the Saviour, meeting the inter- 
ests and questions of the child, and conveyed principally in 
story form ; c. Arouse right feelings ; atmosphere and all 
exercises such as to make for reverence; d. Direction of 
attention in right ways. 

4. The Beginners' Department: (a) Should be organized 
and (b) meet separately, in an adequate room, properly 
furnished and equipped, and (c) have its own simple pro- 
gram with (d) lessons adapted to the needs of little chil- 
dren. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Tell something about the little child's world. 

Why do we say the little child is self-centered? 

What is the importance of physical activity to the child? 

What form does activity principally take? What is the significance of this? 

What is to be said about the senses during this period? 

Tell about the imagination of the little child. 

What is meant by saying the little child is animistic? 

How is the suggestibility of the little child shown? 

What is the significance of imitation? Of curiosity? 

What is taking place in the intellect during these years? 

What can you say of the feelings of the little child? 

How does will begin? How may it be trained? 

Name two chief types of mind and differentiate between them. 

What is most important in moral training? 

Why is environment so important in the religious nurture of these years? 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 193 

Give the most important suggestions about religious instruction of the Be- 
ginners. 

Why should attention be given to the direction of activity? 

What results may we expect in our religious nurture of the little child? 

What organization should the Beginners' Department have? Describe de- 
sirable facilities and equipment. 

What can you say of the program of the session? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Characteristics of Beginners. 

E.W.H.W. pp. 21-29. 

2. The Organization of the Beginners' Department. 

E.W.H.W. Chap. I. 

3. The Beginners' Room and its Equipment. 

E.W.H.W. Chap. IV. 

4. The Program for the Beginners' Department. 

E.W.H.W. Chap. V. 

5. The Religious Life of the Beginner. 

E.W.H.W. Chap. X. 
II. In the Library 

1. The Nature, Scope, and Problems of Child Study. 

Fundamentals of Child Study, Kirkpatrick, Chap. I. 

2. The Senses. 

The Psychology of Childhood, Tracy, Chap. I. 

3. The Feelings. 

The Unfolding Life, Lamoreaux, p. 7Sff. 

4. Training the Impulses. 

Psychological Principles of Education, Home, Chap. XXIII. 



194 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XXVI 

MIDDLE CHILDHOOD 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

During the years from six to eight the child is passing through 
a period which is appropriately designated as middle childhood. 
As a Sunday school pupil we speak of him as a Primary child. 

I. THE PRIMARY CHILD'S WORLD 

About the time the child enters this period he becomes acquainted 
with a somewhat larger world and moves in a wider circle. His 
school life has begun. The number of his acquaintances is in- 
creased ; he has definitely assigned tasks to perform ; he has an 
increased consciousness of his own importance. His present is 
now connected with a definite past, and he has begun to anticipate 
the future. Increase of facts has not made the world of imagination 
unreal ; he yet gives fancy free reign. Home and school are the 
center of interest. 

2. THE PRIMARY CHILD IN HIS WORLD 

There is no strongly marked change in the transitioii from earlj 
to middle childhood. Physical growth is comparatively slow. 
Numerous internal adjustments are taking place. Both mental and 
physical fatigue occur easily. 

(i) Interests. The child is interested in more things and in a 
wider variety than before. His interests still center in the con- 
crete and attach most strongly to physical activity. Games are 
mostly individual; there is no team play. The Primary child enjoys 
playing with other children, but plays only for himself. Collections 
of all sorts of objects begin to be made. 

(2) Distinguishing Characteristics. Some of the most prom- 
inent characteristics of early childhood persist without decided 
change. A few distinguishing characteristics of the Primary child 
may be named : 

a. Controlled Activity. The child now acts more in accord with 
defined ideas. The joy of the younger child is in free, uncontrolled 
movements ; the Primary child delights in actions which show what 
he can do. He soon tires of one thing and turns to something 
different. Somewhat less constantly in motion, yet he is very 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 195 

active. Play is his life. During the first Primary years plays of 
the imagination reach their culmination and then begin to decline. 
The interest in games of action involving competition rapidly 
increases. 

b. Increasing Self-Consciousness. The Primary child has a 
new realization of himself, of his existence apart from others. What 
was shyness and fear in the young child now becomes bashfulness. 
This characteristic is variously manifested in the "stage fright," 
the "showing ofif," and the braggadocio so often seen in children of 
this age. The boy now assumes authority over younger children, 
commands them with much show, and takes satisfaction in teasing 
and tormenting them. 

c. Tempered Imagination. The imagination is not less active but 
is somewhat less wild and grotesque. The difference between fancy 
and fact is coming to be realized, and the imagination is tempered 
by observation and some degree of reason. Concerning a story 
the question is likely to be asked, "Did it really happen, or is it a 
'make-believe' story?" There continues to be a real love for the 
marvelous. 

d. Imitation of Persons. The effort of the little child is to 
reproduce the action which he sees. The Primary child has the 
person in his view more than his deed ; his desire is to be like the 
one who performs the act. He now begins to tell what he will be 
when he becomes a man. 

(3) The Primary Child's Intellect. The child of this age is in 
possession of an immense number of ideas, and his stock continues 
to increase rapidly. He is no longer content that they shall be 
separate. He is beginning to relate things. Reason is awakening. 
He now asks "Why?" more often than "What?" He is less 
credulous and he thinks more for himself. He is eager for knowl- 
edge and makes investigations on his own account. The reading 
interest awakens. A new demand for certainty appears and among 
children at play is manifested by positive assertion. Almost in- 
numerable terms are in use, such as "honest," "truly," "hope to 
die," "cross your heart." The power of memory is increasing. The 
concrete is readily and distinctly recalled and abstract memory is 
beginning. Toward the close of the period verbal memorization 
becomes easy. 

(4) The Primary Child's Feelings. The feelings are much the 
same as in the preceding period. Those which are self-centered are 
still dominant, but the aesthetic and altruistic feelings are more 
apparent than earlier. 



196 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

(5) The Primary Child's Will. The power of volition is 
increasing. The child now says "I will" with recognition that 'T" 
chooses and acts. Habit becomes of increased significance. 

3. THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF THE PRIMARY CHILD 

(i) Moral Training. Firmness should be used with the Pri- 
mary child and obedience to authority insisted upon. He must real- 
ize the meaning of law and respect it. Obedience required now 
may cost tears, but penalties for disobedience in later years are far 
heavier. License now means bondage in maturity. What seem to 
be serious moral faults should be understandingly dealt with. 
Children's lies, for example, may often be explained by the con- 
fusion of fancy for fact, combined with an active, constructive 
imagination. A vivid imagination must be distinguished from will- 
ful misrepresentation. Sometimes lying has its basis in fear. If 
this be the case, whipping only serves to intensify it. Orderly, 
accurate work in the assigned handwork and definite, regular lesson 
preparation, even if a comparatively small amount, must be tact- 
fully but firmly required. Inaccuracy, disorderliness, carelessness 
as to lesson study is a preparation for immorality. Insist on and 
accept only worthy work, for this is an influential element in the 
formation of virtuous and strong character. 

(2) Religious Nurture. That his development as a religious 
child may be constant and certain, religious nurture must be con- 
tinuous. 

The teacher's task is to recognize and foster the life of the 
Spirit already present; by every means the beginnings of religion 
are to be encouraged and fostered. 

a. Environment. As imitation has become imitation of persons, 
personal influence is of the utmost importance. More than by any- 
thing else, the child will be helped by the opportunity of sharing the 
life of Christly people whom he admires and loves. The child 
increasingly appreciates beauty in his surroundings, and is helped 
by it. 

b. Instruction. The mind develops slowly; there is yet little 
abstract reasoning; truth should therefore be presented principally 
in concrete form, and repeatedly, in its varied aspects. Too much 
should not be expected in the way of conclusions from the material 
presented. The child's simple inferences may fall far short of the 
conclusions which you have in mind. Nevertheless, it must not be 
forgotten that the child's mind is at work; his questionings must 
be honestly answered. "Precept upon precept, line upon line, here 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 197 

a little, there a little," is the way he learns. It should not be our 
endeavor to teach him everything about a given subject at one time. 
We should not require him to learn things which have no contact 
with his own experience. Gradually his earlier crude religious 
notions should be corrected, but here care should be taken to lead 
him gently and to avoid shocks and too abrupt changes. Religious 
teachings from nature have now an especially strong appeal. Keen- 
ness of senses makes object-teaching also of special significance. 
In the day school much use is made of games, pictures, and hand- 
work. The Sunday school may well follow this example. It should 
all be very plain and simple. A minister talked to a Primary class 
on fruits of the Spirit, using apples as an illustration. When he 
asked them a little later what were the fruits of the Spirit they 
replied in chorus, "Apples." The Primary child loves stories above 
everything else. The story method of teaching should prevail. 
The distinction between the imaginative story and the narrative of 
fact is an exceedingly important one, and the child should be 
assisted in making it. As the distinction becomes clearer there is 
an increased desire for stories from history. The question, "Is the 
story true?" should be frankly answered; also it should be ex- 
plained that the imaginative story may embody highest truth. Mem- 
orizing of choice Bible verses and select lines of religious poetry is 
now easily possible and should be expected. The child has a 
natural fondness for rhyme ; he thinks a thing Is true if it rhymes. 
Music also has an attraction for him. Religious education should 
take much account of these aptitudes. Jingles and doggerel should 
be strictly ruled out. Strong, beautiful, short prayers should be 
taught and the habit of daily prayer inculcated. 

c. Nurture of the Feelings. Desired feelings can only be 
secured indirectly through ideas, and acts of the will. There can be 
no nurture of the feelings apart from instruction of the intellect 
and training of the will — the child is one. It is useless to merely 
bid the child "Be loving," "Be reverent," expecting the desired feel- 
ing to answer to instant command. We would have the child love 
and revere God ; then we must present the heavenly Father to him 
in the fatherly, loving, and holy aspects of his nature. To God 
revealed as a Father of boundless love and of tender care the 
child will respond with love, trust, and obedience. Sympathy, kind- 
ness, and desire to help the needy and unfortunate should also be 
cultivated. In doing this be sure to avoid creating a morbid feel- 
ing or even burdening the child heart with the cares, anxieties, and 
sorrows of older people. The Primary class should always be a 



198 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

joyous, happy place. The atmosphere should be one of smiles and 
sunshine. Unfortunately it has often been thought necessary to 
make the child feel that he is a great sinner. Effort in this direc- 
tion is injurious rather than helpful since it encourages pretense 
and substitutes theological opinions for the genuine religious im- 
pulses and feelings normal to the child of this age. 

d. Training of the Will. As a rule, Primary children respond 
readily to direction ; they have small reserve powers of resistance 
and v^e can easily use compulsion with them. Our effort should 
be, rather, to secure the hearty assent of the will. The powers 
of will may be gradually strengthened through the development of 
motor control, and direction of muscular movements and physical 
activity. These afford an outlet for the energy of the will. Man- 
ual training, gardening, drawing, music, and various kinds of occu- 
pation exercises may all be made to aid greatly. The development 
of the power to choose between possible courses of action, and to 
say "no" when "yes" would be more pleasant should be begun now. 
Power to make right choices does not spring into existence all at 
once; it must be developed. 

(3) Direction of Activity. If undirected, the actions of Pri- 
mary children are chiefly impulsive. Their activities may be made a 
principal means of religious education. The Sunday school teacher 
should recognize that what she is able to get her boys and girls 
to do on Monday is of greater importance than what she leads 
them to think on Sunday. This for the reason that the order of 
precedence in the child's life is, Do, feel, understand, rather than, 
as we have seemed to think in the past, the exact reverse. Pro- 
fessor Home says: "The child is primarily a doer, not a thinker; 
he abides in the region of the concrete, not the abstract. Children 
can do right, and so feel rightly, before they can think rightly. 
It is through obedience to the commands of God, and feeling our 
dependence upon God, that children finally come to think rightly 
about God." Every manifestation of interest in others through 
some simple, kindly act exerts deep and abiding influence in the life 
of the little doer. 

(4) Results to Be Expected. We may reasonably expect the 
Primary child to think of God as his heavenly Father and to exer- 
cise toward him and toward Jesus Christ, as Saviour, the love, trust, 
obedience, and worship of a child. It is not advisable to try to 
force religious expression. The Holy Spirit's work in the hearts of 
little children is quiet and gentle. They are not to be expected to 
be able to analyze and describe their inner states and feelings. A 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 199 

desire to serve and please in a child's way may be expected. Pri- 
mary children should be obedient, helpful, and happy. They may 
show some undesirable qualities, and their conduct at different 
times may be somewhat contradictory ; they reflect much of the life 
about them, but they are the children of the Father. He claims 
them, and they respond to his care and nurture. 

The child's experience in the Sunday school should be such as to 
lead him to love the Sunday school and the Church. 

4. THE PRIMARY DEPARTMENT OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

(i) Organization. As before, we say where there is more than 
one class of Primary children there should be a Primary Depart- 
ment superintendent — if necessary, one of the teachers. There 
should also be a department secretary and a pianist. Three grades 
are represented — first, second, and third. If possible, have at 
least three classes, one for each grade. Classes should preferably 
be small, from six to ten pupils. In small departments place boys 
and girls together; where six classes are possible have separate 
classes. The superintendent should have general responsibility and 
oversight of the department. The class teachers should teach 
the lesson, visit their pupils between Sundays, and interest them- 
selves in their activities. If Graded Lessons are not used, the super- 
intendent may teach the Uniform Lesson to all the pupils, and the 
class teachers teach only the supplemental lessons. Each teacher 
should have an assistant, or class helper. 

(2) Facilities and Equipment. It is very desirable that the 
Primary Department have its own room, separate from every other 
department of the school, large enough so the various classes will 
not interrupt one another. Good light and ventilation are highly 
desirable. As floor covering linoleum or cork carpet is preferable 
to either carpet or rugs, and is reasonable in price and durable. 
Chairs of from twelve to sixteen inches in height should be pro- 
vided. Medium weight, folding tables for class use will be found 
useful. Hooks for hats and coats are essential. Investment may 
well be made in a few really good pictures, of interest to Primary 
children. Pictures without relation to Primary interests should be 
excluded. The room should be bright, cheerful, and happy in 
appearance. Additional equipment desirable : Department table, 
bookcase kept in order, illustrative material, and song roll. 

(3) The Program. The Primary Department should have its 
own program apart from other departments of the schooi. There 
is no good reason why the Primary pupils should participate in the 



200 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

exercises of a general assembly. The department program should 
be carefully planned each week in advance ; it should always include 
praise, prayer, offering, fellowship, and teaching as constituent ele- 
ments. Variety from week to week may be secured by relating the 
songs, Bible reading, and memory verses to the lesson theme for the 
day. The music should be carefully chosen. The hymns should be 
simple, within the child's comprehension, reverent, and consistent 
with good sense and good taste. Doggerel, the hymns morbid in 
sentiment and funereal in tune, should be rigidly excluded. Some of 
the best should be memorized. Quiet music, unannounced, before 
and after the session, and between parts of the program, is an aid to 
orderliness and reverence. The objects of the offering should be 
explained. The superintendent should see that at least a part is 
used for benevolent objects. The fellowship service provides a 
place for the recognition of birthdays and for welcoming new 
scholars. Prior to the session the class helpers may occupy the 
early comers with simple handwork relating to the lesson of the 
preceding week. The entire program should be both joyous and 
worshipful; by means of it the foundations of habitual praise, wor- 
ship, Christian fellowship, and service should be laid. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Take for comparison the Primary child whom you 
know best: to what extent does this child correspond with 
the characterization given in this chapter? Wherein does 
he differ? 

Thinking again of the Sunday school you know best : 

2. Write a thoughtful statement on the work of its Pri- 
mary Department, showing how in your judgment it 
might be strengthened. 

3. Prepare a list of changes necessary in order to make 
the facilities and equipment of this school somewhere near 
ideal for Primary work. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

''Those first affections, those shadowy recollections 
Which, be they what they may. 
Are yet the fountain light of all our day. 
Are yet the master light of all our seeing; 
Uphold us, cherish, and have power ... 
. . . Truths that wake to perish never ; 
Which neither listlessness nor mad endeavor, 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 201 

Nor man nor boy, 
Nor all that is at enmity with joy, 
Can utterly abolish or destroy." 

1. Distinguishing characteristics of the Primary child: 
a. Controlled Activity; b. Increasing Self-consciousness; c. 
Tempered Imagination ; d. Imitation of Persons. 

2. The Primary child's intellect: Immense stock of ideas; 
reason awakening ; reading interest developing fast ; de- 
mand for certainty arises; memory power increasing. 

3. Religious education of the Primary child : ( i ) Moral 
Training — obedience required ; fact and fancy distinguished. 
(2) Religious Nurture — a. Environment, personal influence, 
beauty ; b. Instruction, still the concrete, stories, simple 
reasoning, questions answered, object teaching; c. Nurture 
of the feelings, indirect; d. Training of the Will, through 
motor control and development of power to choose rightly. 

4. The Primary Department: (a) Should be organized 
and (b) meet separately in its own room with (c) a pro- 
gram of praise, prayer, offering, fellowship, and teaching, 
and (d) a lesson which meets Primary interests and needs. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What new features attach to the Primary child's world? 

What prominent characteristics of the little child still persist? 

Describe the outstanding interests of the Primary child. 

What is to be said of the activity of the Primary child? 

What is the significance of "showing off"? 

How does imagination differ from the Beginner's imagination? Imitation' 

Do children's "lies" involve guilt? 

Give the principal facts concerning the Primary child's intellect. 

What changes are to be noted in the feelings and the will? 

What are the principal points of emphasis in the moral training of the 
Primary child? In the matter of his instruction? 

How must nurture of the feelings be accomplished? 

Why is direction of activity so important? 

How will the religion of the Primary child be manifested? 

Give the most important points concerning the organization of the Primary 
Department. Concerning facilities and equipment. 

Outline a proper program for the department. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. Organization of the Primary Department. 

E.W.H.W. p. i24if. 

2. The Program. ' 

E.W.H.W. p. i67fr. 

3. Outside Activities. 

E.W.H.W. p. ipgff. 
II. In the Library 

1. Characteristics of the Primary Child. 

Pease, Outline of a Bible School Curriculum, p. 78ff. 

2. The Problem of Discipline. 

Wiggin, Children's Rights, p. i4iff. 



202 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XXVII 
LATER CHILDHOOD 
L LESSON STATEMENT 

I. THE JUNIOR CHILD'S WORLD 

The Junior's world is peopled, not with fairies and other creatures 
of the imagination, but with real folks. He lives in a wonderful 
world, but the wonder attaches to things as they are, to the achieve- 
ments of men of action, to places and the things which have hap- 
pened in them, and to the manifold forms of animal and plant life. 
The world of nature is an open book to him, and he lives in as 
intimate fellowship with it as did primitive man. He has also 
awakened to a fuller understanding of what he reads and the world 
of literature is opening up to hirr 

2. THE JUNIOR IN HIS WORLD 

Growth is slow, the health very good, and the appetite voracious. 
The body is gaining strength, resistance, and vitality against the 
strain of the years to come, and is well-nigh immune to contagion, 
exposure, and accident. The boy especially is light-hearted, care- 
free, and irresponsible. Yet he has a capacity for loyalty, and when 
this trait is awakened he will perform with fidelity tasks involving 
responsibility. He is outspoken, almost brutally frank. This is the 
age when the boy and his dog are inseparable companions. He 
knows no fear of the animal creation ; it is sheer delight to him to 
catch a snake by the tail, chase an older girl with it, and finally 
place it in the school-teacher's desk. His conduct involves him 
often in contradictions, hard to understand, which he can no more 
explain than those who know him best. The girl is much like her 
brother, only somewhat less noisy and boisterous, and toward the 
close of the period likely to grow somewhat serious. Individuality 
here shows itself more plainly than before. The typical Junior, 
described in the child study textbooks, never existed. The teacher 
must acquaint herself with the individual pupil. 

(i) Interests. The interests of the Junior boy center in outdoor 
life and sports. He wants to hunt, trap, go fishing, wander in the 
woods, build caves or huts. A bonfire has an irresistible charm. 
He often shows a marked constructive interest in some form of 
handicraft, mechanics, or electricity. Girls are more domestic, but 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 203 

they also enjoy active, outdoor games. Both sexes take delight in 
regalia, the feathers and other decorations of the savage or the more 
sober decorations of buttons, badges, and uniforms. These sig- 
nify to the Junior a preeminence of which he is very proud. Inter- 
est in collections is increased. Interest in reading is stronger and 
continues to increase throughout the period. The reading interests 
center in biography, travel, adventure, and history in which the ele- 
ment of action is prominent. The social interests are rapidly 
developing; Juniors crave companionship, but the sexes are now 
beginning to draw apart. The boy has a kind of contempt for his 
weaker, less adventurous sister, and the girl looks critically on her 
brother's rudeness and his lack of care for appearances. 

(2) Characteristics. This period, again, has its own strongly 
marked characteristics. Of these the most important are : 

a. Energy and Activity. President G. Stanley Hall character- 
izes this period by saying, "Activity is greater and more varied than 
it ever was before or ever will be again, and there is peculiar 
vitality, endurance, and resistance to fatigue." Both boys and girls 
throw themselves into various forms of motor activity with abso- 
lute abandon, pure joy, and satisfaction. They despise ease; they 
want to do many and hard things. They seem led by an irresistible 
impulse to exercise every muscle, to match strength with strength, 
and to use every effort to excel. They must have variety ; work, 
involving sustained effort of one kind, is distasteful. Their action 
is not of the noiseless variety, 

b. Growing Independence. The Junior has new self-assertion 
and independence. The dependency of early childhood has gone. 
The boy especially is a daring and adventurous creature, ready to 
act on his own initiative. He now has his first strong impulse to 
run away. The typical school truant is a Junior. Not infrequently 
he runs away from home. Two eleven-year-old boys drove out of 
Chicago one day last summer in a grocer's delivery wagon en route 
to Montana to shoot Indians. They were armed with an old 
musket and a toy pistol, and provisioned. with a can of dried beef 
and seventeen loaves of bread. 

c. Hero Worship, The Junior is a hero-worshiper. At this age 
boys and girls must have a hero. The first element they look for 
is achievement ; beyond this the boy is most likely to seek qualities 
of physical strength, daring, and courage. Other qualities, however, 
may make a strong appeal, and the character idealized, if the Junior 
is left entirely free to make his own choice, may be very different 
from what we would have chosen. 



204 First standard manual 

d. The "Gang" Instinct. Toward the close of the period the 
social instinct begins to manifest itself strongly. Both boys and 
girls spontaneously form groups or "gangs." Probably four fifths 
of the boys are in at least one informal organization all the time ; 
with girls the proportion is not less. These groups do not have the 
cohesiveness or tenacity which will later characterize them. They 
are easily broken, and new ones as easily formed. While there is 
a marked craving for companionship, individuality of action is 

• still strong. Team play is not yet at its best. 

e. LiTERALNESS. The imagination of the little child as applied to 
the everyday world about him has gone; the Junior has ceased to 
live in the world of fancy. He does not care for imaginative play; 
he is matter of fact and wants exact statement. His interest in fairy 
tales has declined ; he now prefers narratives which present expe- 
riences of real persons. 

(3) The Junior's Intellect. The powers of reasoning are some- 
what increased. A real interest is manifested in puzzles, riddles, 
and guessmg games. TJie golden period for memorisation is at 
hand. Memory is mechanical ; sufficient drill will fix anything in 
mind. This is the time in life to learn languages. 

(4) The Junior's Feelings. The Junior's feelings are' strong 
but not deep; they are changeable and transient. Toward the latter 
part of the period the girl begins to become sentimental. 

(5) The Junior's Will. The personal will in this period begins 
to assert itself somewhat strongly. The Junior is more self-assert- 
ive. His will is not sufficiently developed to give his decisions and 
choices permanent significance ; he is changeable and not infre- 
quently strongly reverses himself. 

3. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OP THE JUNIOR 

(i) Moral Training. The Junior age is the nascent period for 
habit formation. Habits are now formed more easily than at any 
other period of life and are more permanent. Attention must be 
given to the formation of right physical habits, moral action, 
manners, and religious observances. Respect for law, learned 
earlier, should be strengthened and obedience to it insisted upon. 
Fair play in all games should be inculcated. The group life into 
which the Junior has entered now constitutes for him a new social 
order. His first desire is to stand well with the other members 
of his "gang" ; he accepts unquestioningly the laws of the "gang" 
as his rules of conduct. If the group has one or two boys of defi- 
cient training, the standards of the group may fall far below those 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 205 

of the better boys. It is of first importance, therefore, that the 
Junior's associates be of the right sort. Often the first necessity in 
changing a Junior's conduct is to change his or her companions. 
Parents should be appealed to that the home be made the central 
influence and deciding factor in the forming of companionships. If 
the cooperation of parents can be secured and the homes opened 
for pleasant evenings together, the Junior class may be constituted 
the "gang." The loyalty of which he is capable must be made the 
basis of moral appeal. To allow him to feel that you doubt him, 
or do not respect him, is entirely to lose influence over him. Judge 
Lindsey, of the Juvenile Court of Denver, explains his success in 
dealing with delinquent boys by the fact that he appeals to their 
sense of honor and loyalty. He shows them that his success 
depends upon their keeping faith with him ; they feel that he 
believes in them and trusts them ; they will "stand by the Judge." 
(2) Religious Nurture. 

a. Environment. Next to his need for the right kind of com- 
panions, the Junior needs live, present-day adult heroes. Whereas 
earlier the child imitated the actions of people, he now imitates the 
qualities which he discovers in others. Would that every Junior 
boys' class might have a strong, noble Christian man to be "hero 
first and then teacher," and every Junior girls' class a woman of 
like type to serve this same need. As President King has so 
well said, "No teaching of morals and noble ideals by precept 
is quite equal in effect and influence to the bringing of surrendered 
personality into touch with a truly noble Christian soul." Hero 
worship there is bound to be ; if the Sunday school fails to pro- 
vide the heroes, some other agency will do so. At its best, this 
instinct means the assimilation of high ideals, the emulation of 
strong characters, the formation of right habits, the foundation of 
true and noble living; at its worst, it means admiration of brute 
force, developing lawlessness, the formation of destructive habits, 
giving license to worst instincts — a life crippled and doomed before 
it has been launched under full sail. To be a Junior's hero many 
things are desirable; a few are positively necessary: you must be 
able to act energetically and strongly; to do things, some of them 
surpassingly well ; be master of yourself, your moods, your tempers, 
and modes of expression; be frank and genuine, and know what 
you attempt to teach. 

b. Instruction. In this period the materials best adapted for 
religious nurture through instruction center in the activities of 
heroic characters. It is not a time for the discussion of abstract 



206 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

ideals; they will have little effect. The teacher should not attach 
the label of hero to the character studied, or even urge the pupils 
to do so. Allow the achievements to make their own impression 
and the verdict to come as a spontaneous tribute. The Junior 
needs now to know about God as Creator and Ruler, whose supreme 
activities in the creation and government of the universe will com- 
pel his admiration and homage. He needs to know about Jesus 
Christ, his Kingly rule, the deeds which manifested his power — 
how those who accepted him as their ruler and leader became ca- 
pable of deeds of might and heroism, men of power and achievement. 
The fact that the Bible is the greatest treasury of deeds of true 
heroism which we have will deepen the Juniors' interest in it. 
These boys and girls need now to be shown the terrible cumulative 
consequences of wrong action. The fact of the presence of sin in 
the world needs to be made very clear to them and abhorrence for 
it cultivated. The significance of individual choice needs to be 
shown and the consciousness of responsibility for it awakened. 

It is to be recognized that the reading interest affords one of the 
finest opportunities for instruction. History in which action is 
made prominent, appeals. The literature of hero legend and chiv- 
alry is attractive, and it should be gleaned for its choicest contribu- 
tions. The religious teacher should be able to guide her pupils to 
the best in biography, history, poetry, and fiction. The discrimina- 
tion of Juniors is not developed, and unless they are given counsel 
and guidance they will not always choose wisely. The injury of 
bad books is incalculable. All the work of the Sunday school for 
the pupil may be negatived and undone by the reading of a few 
trashy books. The Sunday school teacher should make it his busi- 
ness to know what books his pupils are reading. 

The Junior's ability to memorise should he utilised. This is the 
time for him to learn the outstanding facts about the Bible : its great 
divisions, the number and names of the books in each ; authors, 
periods of the history, names of prophets and apostles, great chap- 
ters and other important facts. The memory should be stored with 
the choicest Bible verses. Never again can they be so easily learned, 
and they will wonderfully enrich the religious life. It is questioned 
whether the child should be required to memorize abstract doc- 
trinal statements, such as are given in most catechisms, and with 
which his experience has no point of contact. 

Definite tasks for home work should be assigned; slight assign- 
ments at first, gradually increased. The faithful performance of 
the assigned task should be required. To allow boys and girls to 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 207 

neglect what the Church through its Sunday school asks of them is 
a serious mistake. It tends toward the development of a habit 
which has profound consequences of neglect and indifference to 
religion in later life. 

c. Nurture of the Feelings. Desired feelings may be stimulated 
by holding before the pupil actions which grow out of them. Love 
of truth, respect for honesty, integrity, and the right are greatly to 
be desired in these boys and girls, but they will not come by com- 
mand or entreaty. Altruistic love may now be awakened by pictur- 
ing the need of others, or, better still, by bringing the child to see 
the actual conditions which he may help to relieve. There should 
be no effort to produce unnatural religious feelings in the child. 
The religion of the Junior is essentially joyous. The feelings most 
to be desired are the spontaneous joy and gratitude which arise in 
the child's heart as he contemplates the love and care of the heav- 
enly Father, and awe and reverence as the sublime majesty and 
greatness of the Creator come to be more fully understood. Some- 
times, deeply and permanently injurious work has been done in 
children's meetings by working upon the feelings. A child should 
not be encouraged to give public utterance to feelings the genuine- 
ness of which may be open to question. On the other hand, the 
teacher should encourage the confidences of the pupil, even draw 
them out in conversation. Juniors are naturally reticent in speaking 
of their fears, hopes, anxieties, and aspirations. Not infrequently 
they have secret anxieties which should be relieved. A teacher 
writes to the author : 'T remember when a Junior of trying to com- 
prehend eternity until I felt my head nearly bursting. I found a 
book of seven sermons on the unpardonable sin ; decided I had 
committed it ; had terrible dreams of the devil coming after me, and 
suffered almost intolerable agony." 

d. Training of the Will. The secret of effective will-training 
is comradeship rather than compulsion. The Junior's plans and 
ideas are very dear to him and they are the kind that go not out 
by force. "The natural reaction of a 'yo^i shall' is an T won't.' 
The human animal was not made to be driven, and this is one of 
his glories." But these boys, and girls as well, are responsive to 
the love which manifests itself in sympathetic companionship, and 
by that bond are easily led. Even religious exhortation too often 
repeated becomes tiresome to Juniors and tends to alienate rather 
than persuade. 

It is important that the Junior begin to make his own decisions, 
rather than another make them for him. As exercise of the muscles 



208 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

of the arm results in increased strength, so exercise of the will in- 
creases its power. Self-activity is necessary. Any number of moral 
decisions made for a boy will not impart moral strength to him ; he 
gains in power of resistance only by saying "no" for himself. It 
is the teacher's part to make distinctions clear and to point out 
consequences, then lead the pupil to make his own decision. It is 
very important that in this period the will be exercised in right 
ways ; later there will be conflicting impulses not now existing. 

(3) Direction of Activity The unmeasured energy of the Junior 
must be expended in right ways because habits are constantly 
being made in its expenditure. A related truth is that if 
Christian service is to be placed on the basis of habitual action 
rather than on chance impulse, a beginning must be made now. 
What the pupil does as messenger, usher, assistant secretary, mem- 
ber of choir or orchestra is not merely a present help to the school, 
it is writing the law of service into his members, it is the most 
effective part of his religious education. It strengthens his reli- 
gious purpose and broadens his conceptions of the religious life. 
By proper direction the Sunday school may develop religious habits 
which will be permanent. Service for others in direct personal ways 
should be systematically planned. Giving of money should be 
emphasized. The pupils themselves should be given an opportunity 
of considering causes to be contributed to, and gifts should always 
be voted by the class. Natural interests may be utilized in develop- 
ing the habit of doing for the Church. For example, the collecting 
interest may be utilized in securing a collection of pictures for illus- 
trative work, objects for the missionary cabinet, or pictures and 
objects showing Bible manners and customs. In every possible 
instance the school should have a Junior choir. Many a superin- 
tendent wears himself out doing little things which boys and girls 
would gladly do for him to their own great profit. It will be found 
highly desirable to have pupils' class organizations, or in the small 
school an organization including all the pupils of the department. 
There should be no rigidity of form ; frequent changes will be 
found necessary. Junior interests, presented above, will suggest 
features which should be emphasized. The Junior Department or- 
ganization or society may well have meetings in addition to that of 
the school session, and have charge of all the activities of children 
of Junior age, for which the Church undertakes to provide. 

(4) Results to Be Expected. A fixed habit of prayer should 
exist. It may be often perfunctory, but the habit is in itself impor- 
tant. "Habitual prayer to God is the starting point of spiritual reli- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 209 

gion." Not infrequently there may be during the period the awak- 
ening of something of spontaneous interest in prayer. The reli- 
gion of this age is not introspective. The boy and girl should not 
be expected often to give expression to the feeling side of reli- 
gion. Though they have a genuine love for the heavenly Father, 
this is not a time when they will naturally say much about it. 
They should not be unduly urged, for urging might easily lead to 
insincerity. Above all things we must cherish genuineness ; for 
any expression to be made which is not genuine is a misfortune. 
They should be expected to express their religious interest in kindly 
ministries and in doing things for Church and school. 

The child who has been taught from infancy that he is God's 
child, and who has come to think of himself as a Christian, should 
not now be urged to repent and turn to God as adults are exhorted 
to do. Such a course is contradictory, and the child will not fail to 
see the contradiction. It is sure to cause confusion, and it is likely 
to make him question the teaching of the past. He has no sinful 
past, such as the adult has, from which a radical break is required. 
The natural course is a gradually forming purpose, constantly 
strengthening and deepening as the free personal will develops, 
accompanied by a like development of the feeling life. With some 
there may be visible during the Junior period no deeper manifesta- 
tion of the religious life than conformity to religious observances ; 
if the habit of these is well established and the work of instruction 
has been well done, the inner commitment will surely come later. 
With others there is certain to be a marked deepening of religious 
interest, and in many an awakening to a new spiritual consciousness, 
bringing with it a new filial sense toward God as Father, and 
readily manifesting itself in a personal commitment to the Lord 
Jesus Christ as Friend and Saviour. As a result there will be a 
desire manifested to publicly confess love for the Father and for 
the Saviour by reception into membership in the Church.^ Those 
in whom such a desire prevails should be received and heartily 
welcomed. It is an exceedingly serious thing to deny admission to 
the Church to any boy or girl at any time when a strong desire 
to come into the Church exists. The child is sensitive; rebuff may 
be deeply felt. A little later there will be strong influences pulling 
in the opposite direction; if refused admission now, he may later 



^Of the children in the Sunday schools of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
as well as a number of other churches, many have been baptized in infancy. 
If the best traditions of the Church have been adhered to, they are recorded 
and recognized as probationary members of the Church, Jf this is the case 
they should now be received into full membership, 



210 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

turn away from the Church and eventually from the religious life. 
Reception into Church membership with appreciation on the part 
of the Junior that it involves a free giving of himself to Jesus 
Christ and a fuller acceptance of his leadership is most excellent 
preparation for the storms and struggles of early adolescence. 
Making allowance for exceptional circumstances and cases, the 
members of the Junior Department should be expected to unite with 
the Church before passing on to the Intermediate Department. 

4. THE JUNIOR DEPARTMENT 

(i) Organization. Ideally, the Junior Department will have its 
own ample department room with full department organization, 
including superintendent, assistant, secretary, librarian, pianist, and 
teachers. If inadequate equipment makes it necessary for the 
Juniors to meet as a part of a general assembly, there should be at 
least a department superintendent charged with responsibility for 
the strictly departmental work in connection with the lessons, pro- 
motions, and activities. If there are a sufficient number of pupils, 
there should be one class of boys and one of girls of each of the 
four grades. In a smaller department two grades may be combined, 
making two classes of boys and two of girls. 

(2) Facilities and Equipment. If the department has its own 
room, effort should be made to make the furnishings and equipment 
complete and fitting. A few well-chosen pictures should be on the 
walls; among them good copies of "The Child Samuel," by 
Reynolds, and "The Boy Christ," by Hofmann. General equipment 
should include piano, superintendent's and secretary's desks, black- 
board, class tables, library case, a large mounted song roll with 
hymns for memorization, and records and accessories for the 
classes. Models of Oriental houses, sheepfolds, and other objects 
may gradually be acquired, likewise objects from mission lands. 
Every thoroughly equipped Sunday school will have a Geography 
Room with standard Hat maps, relief map of Palestine, and a sand 
table. The Juniors will make good use of such a room. 

(3) The Program. Much will depend upon the program for the 
lesson hour. Junior Department programs are prepared and issued 
to accompany the International Graded Lessons and are excellent. 
Where these are not used the superintendent should invariably care- 
fully plan the program in advance. It should include worship in 
praise, prayer, and offering; instruction; and expressional work 
(See Handwork, pp. 294f.) A prominent place should regularly be 
given to memory drills, of which a wide variety may be used. Re- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 211 

sponsive Scripture readings and singing of hymns should be from 
memory. The offerings should provide for education in benevolence 
by regular contributions to definite objects. Martial music has a 
strong appeal. Such hymns 'and tunes should be given a permanent 
place in the Juniors' minds by memorization and frequent use as : 
"Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus," "Onward, Christian Soldiers," 
"Brightly Gleams Our Banner," "It Came Upon the Midnight 
Clear," "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," "Brightest and Best of the 
Sons of the Morning," "Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling." 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Take for comparison a Junior boy or girl with whom 
you are intimately acquainted: To what extent does the 
characterization of the Junior in this chapter fit? Wherein 
is it inadequate? Wherein is it overdrawn? 

Considering further the Sunday school you know best: 

2. Write on the provision for work with Juniors in facili- 
ties and equipment. Wherein can it be improved? 

3. Prepare a constructive statement on the teaching in 
the Junior classes, applying such tests as the following: 
Are the pupils familiar with their Bibles? Do they locate 
references easily? Are they becoming acquainted with the 
great characters of the Bible? What great passages have 
they memorized? How many of the great hymns of the 
Church do they know ? Are they forming habits of service ? 
What proportion of them have united with the Church? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"Blessings on thee, little man. 
Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan ! 
With thy turned-up pantaloons, 
And thy merry whistled tunes; 

O for boyhood's painless play. 
Sleep that wakes in laughing day, 
Health that mocks the doctor's rules, 
Knowledge never learned of schools. 

— John G. Whittier. 

1. Characteristics: a. Energy and Activity; b. Growing 
Independence ; c. Hero worship ; d. "Gang" Instinct ; e. 
Literalness. 

2. The Junior's Intellect: Powers of reasoning somewhat 
increased; the nascent period of memorization. 



212 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

3. Religious Education of the Junior: (i) Moral Train- 
ing — formation of right habits ; obedience to law required ; 
right associates secured; loyalty appealed to. (2) Religious 
Nurture — a. Environment — live heroes ; b. Instruction — ma- 
terials, the activities of heroic characters, God as Creator 
and Ruler, Jesus Christ as King, the Bible as treasury of 
heroic deeds, reading guided, memorization; c. Nurture of 
the Feelings — through actions growing out of desired feel- 
ings, not by working upon the emotions, encouraging con- 
fidences ; d. Training of the Will — comradeship, exercise of 
the will in right decisions. (3) Direction of Activity — in 
ways of simple, helpful ministry. 

4. The Junior Department: Ideally, will have (a) full 
department organization and (b) meet separately in its own 
room, with (c) a program which gives prominent place to 
Bible drills and best memory hymns, and (d) a lesson which 
meets Junior interests and needs. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Describe the Junior's world; the Junior himself. 

What are the strongest interests of the period? 

What is to be said of physical activity in this period? 

Name and describe the other leading characteristics of the Junior. 

What are outstanding facts concerning the intellect? 

What can you say of the feelings? The will? 

What are the most important points in the moral training of Juniors? 

W^hat is the chief requirement to be met in providing right environment? 

Give the most important points touching instruction. 

What are the principal suggestions on the nurture of the feelings? 

What are the two chief essentials in will-training during these years? 

Show why direction of activity is now important. 

Describe the religion of the Junior. 

Describe ideal organization for the Junior Department; desirable equipment. 

Give the most important points concerning the program; the lesson. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. Junior Department Organization. 

J.W.H.W. Chap. V. 

2. Junior Department Equipment. 

J.W.H.W. Chap. VI. 

3. Junior Activities. 

J.W.H.W. Chap. XVIII. 
II. In the Library 

1. Characteristics of the Junior. 

Youth, Hall, p. iff. 

2. Development of the Individualistic Instinct. 

Fundamentals of Child Study, Kirkpatrick, Chap. VI. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 213 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
EARLY ADOLESCENCE 
I. LESSON STATEMENT 

I. THE INTERMEDIATE'S WORLD 

The Intermediate has been led out into a broad and open place. 
Before, as a child, he only saw men as trees walking ; now his eyes 
are open and he sees men clearly. He begins to be conscious of the 
bigness of things, of the multitudinous life about him, of the inner 
meaning of its incessant activities. For the first time the world is 
before him. 

2. THE INTERMEDIATE IN HIS WORLD 
The years from fourteen to sixteen in boys and from twelve to 
fourteen in girls are those of greatest growth. Some of the most 
important organs of the body, including the lungs and the heart, 
increase rapidly in size ; the arteries become one third larger ; the 
senses are strengthened. The growth of the muscles proceeds so 
rapidly that fine adjustments are difficult, hence awkwardness 
results. This is the period of puberty, the most significant crisis 
between birth and death. By this physiological new birth, the child 
becomes the man or woman. It is accompanied by a psychological 
new birth, a birth from ''egoism and isolation to altruism and 
society." The term now most commonly applied to the whole period 
from the first awakening of the new powers to the attaining of full 
adult strength is adolescence. Its limits vary in different individ- 
uals, the beginning coming anywhere between twelve and fourteen, 
and the close at about twenty-four or twenty-five. The period is 
divided into early, middle, and late adolescence. Early adolescence 
includes the years thirteen to sixteen, with which the Intermediate 
Department corresponds. 

The Intermediate is a new creature. The deep, strong impulses 
are taking form within his soul, the great passions and controlling 
ambitions are coming to life, the social instincts are taking new and 
more definite and stronger form. The spirit of heroism is born 
within him. There is a new liking for adventure and an accompany- 
ing daring which scorns risk and danger. These changes pave the 
way for terrible assaults of temptation. The strengthened muscles 
and new powers cry out for exercise. 



214 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

(i) Interests. The interests are widened and deepened. The 
ambitions and ideals of the adult spring forth full grown in 
this period; all of the permanent interests of the adult have their 
origin, or are greatly strengthened. The boy often wants to make 
a living for himself, hence his desire to leave school to go to work. 
The reading and study interest centers in the lives of the great 
heroes and pioneers of the race. The interest in poetry, music, and 
art is often greatly increased. Social interests increase rapidly. 
Physical recreation and sports are attractive. The superabundant 
physical energy seeks motor expression. 

(2) General Characteristics. 

a. Independence. There is a new spirit of independence with a 
marked decrease of fear of authority. Parental restraints pre- 
viously respected, if now enforced, not infrequently result in a seri- 
ous break between child and parent. It should be understood that 
this is not a child's rebellion against authority, it is man's inde- 
pendence asserting itself; it is youth realizing its right to make its 
own decisions and to live its own life. 

b. Developing Social Instincts. During the first years of the 
period sex repulsion continues ; then a change comes and the sexes 
begin to be mutually attracted. Few of either boys or girls go 
through the period without a first love affair. The gang instinct 
reaches its culmination at about thirteen and gradually declines. 
Team play is now at its best. A sacrifice hit is a genuine pleasure. 
This is not a surface characteristic. Life has become altruistic 
through and through. The Intermediate counts all things of self 
as nothing that he may serve others. There is a strong desire for 
companionship. Boys and girls must have company; they cannot 
bear to be alone. 

c. Desire for Leadership. This may seem contradictory to the 
last named characteristic, but it is not essentially so. It is another 
form of manifestation of the new selfhood. There is a fondness for 
organizations and offices. The pupil desires to excel, to beat his 
own record, to make a name for himself. The first strong purposes 
to reform the world and to right old wrongs are now expressed. 

d. Spiritual Awakening. Toward the latter part of the period 
there is almost certain to be a spontaneous spiritual awakening of 
very great significance. During childhood, religion is largely a 
matter of custom and habit; it consists principally of outward ob- 
servances; belief and observance of religious forms are imposed 
from without. Now it becomes more intimate and personal ; it be- 
comes a part of the inner consciousness. Just as there is a birth 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 515 

of a new self-consciousness there is a birth of a new religious con- 
sciousness. Sometimes this comes before the beginning of the Inter- 
mediate period, but with very many it comes at about sixteen. It 
is accompanied by a new interest and joy in religious observances; 
prayer is no longer the repetition of words, it is communion with 
the Great Companion. 

(3) The Intermediate's Intellect. The Intermediate Is strongly 
inclined to think his way, to demand reasons that satisfy his mind. 
The age of credulity has passed. He is now able to reason and he 
wants to understand. It is not enough that authority pronounces 
its verdict; he demands to know how the verdict was reached. The 
Intermediate is critical ; he is not at heart a doubter. Clear, logical 
reasoning satisfies him, but he knows more than he is usually given 
credit for knowing, and he despises shallow intellectual pretense. 

(4) The Intermediate's Feelings. With the beginning of the 
period the feelings extend over a wider range, and become deeper 
and more intense. The emotional nature is easily stirred. De- 
spondency is not uncommon, and is sometimes very strong. It may 
be varied by spells of elation. There is a strange, strong feeling of 
loneliness which not infrequently is almost overpowering. Un- 
steadiness, restlessness, and wavering prevail to an extent which 
makes emotional instability one of the most marked characteristics 
of the period. While self-will and combativeness come early and 
develop rapidly, sympathy, dignity, self-reliance, and responsibility 
are slower in their development, and this likewise results in a lack 
of balance. Nevertheless, the ideals are now taking on permanent 
form. 

(5) The Intermediate's Will. The powers of will receive a 
new infusion of strength and crave expression. The Intermediate 
is no longer satisfied to have his decisions made for him by another. 
His will must now assert itself. Its range is wider and its basis in 
feeling is stronger and deeper. Accompanying the development of 
the new bodily powers and functions, increased muscular force and 
strength, and a new social consciousness, the question arises, "What 
shall I do with life?" Before this period has passed the form of 
answer to that question will have been largely determined. 

(6) Summary. The Intermediate has left childhood behind and 
has not yet found himself as an Adult. He cannot at once organize 
his new experiences or adjust himself to new conditions. He has 
not learned to express himself well. Both boy and girl are almost 
sure to act frequently on sudden impulse ; it must not be thought 
strange if they exhibit sudden bursts of passion. The boy may be 



2i6 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

an entirely different being hy turns — kind, good, and tractable for 
a time, and then cruel, harsh, angry, and disobedient. He should 
not be condemned as wholly bad because of occasional transgres- 
sions. Under sudden impulse, he may commit some lawless act 
which later he will regret quite as keenly as parent or teacher. Or, 
again, he may appear at times self-conscious and bashful, shy and 
reticent, and at other times exhibit a spirit of braggadocio and 
forwardness. The girl is a different being from the boy, but con- 
tradictions may be expected in her. She is likely to be governed 
more by intuition than reason. Often no more satisfactory ex- 
planation of some strange act can be secured than "I just wanted 
to do it." She ardently desires to be attractive and gives much 
attention to her appearance. The girl who has been a serious child 
may now exhibit strange coyness and coquetry. It must be under- 
stood that the period is a time of sharp contrasts and conflicts; 
contending forces battle within the heart. The Intermediate seems 
a complex and puzzling creature to all who are interested in him, 
but this is a much more trying time for him than for anyone else. 
He is the least understood, least sympathized with, and. most 
harshly criticized member of the human family. The lack of suc- 
cess in religious work with young people has been largely due to 
this fact. It has not been entirely due to indifference and inertia ; 
the Sunday school has not known what to do with the Intermediate. 
A compelling need is that we should study to know him and to 
understand him, in order that we may deal both sympathetically and 
intelligently with him. 

3. THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF THE INTERMEDIATE 

(i) Moral Training. The strongest and surest basis for char- 
acter development in this period is to be found in the religious feel- 
ings. The moral peril which finds its basis in sex becomes acute with 
the new development of the physical powers. Instruction should 
have been previously given by parents, but nothing is more often 
neglected by them. Help may be given by aiding youth to under- 
stand and appreciate the fundamental importance and sanctity of 
the sex function. 

(2) Religious Nurture. The supreme importance of the Inter- 
mediate years for religion has been universally recognised. With 
primitive savage tribes it was the age when by peculiar religious 
rites the youth was initiated into the full fellowship of the tribe ; 
in many religious institutions it is the age of confirmation. Modern 
scientific study has demonstrated that there is sound psychological 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 217 

basis for these practices. The conditions in the hfe are now right 
for such a response to the call of religion as was not possible earlier. 
The great deeps of the soul are stirred; the whole spirit is crying 
out for the satisfactions of religion ; the youth is now ready to sur- 
render himself without reserve. The appeal of all appeals to be 
made to him is to follow Jesus Christ in living and service, to pub- 
licly acknowledge him as Leader and Saviour, and to give up every 
known sin. The spiritual av/akening is to be eagerly looked for by 
the teacher, and every manifestation of its coming is to be encour- 
aged. 

a. Environment. The youth needs comradeship above all else. 
He craves it. Companions he will have. He is highly susceptible 
to influence. He thinks himself a man, but he has neither age nor 
experience to decide for himself the great issues of life. He can- 
not be expected to show the childish dependence upon others which 
characterized his younger years, but he never before so greatly 
needed to be girded about with the silent strength of other lives 
brought into close fellowship with his own. He will not ask advice 
nor assistance, nor will he allow you to speak for him. But if you 
have his confidence, and if you live before him. the decisions which 
you want him to make, he will choose rightly. Above all, the 
Intermediate needs the comradeship during these years of the 
ever present Friend. It should be borne in upon him that personal 
association with Christ is a certain source of inspiration, encour- 
agement, and strength. 

b. Instruction. We have seen that the interest of the Interme- 
diate centers in the heroic. He delights in chivalry. He craves 
accounts of daring, of adventure, of courageous and heroic living. 
He has little use for the recluse, the devotee, the traditional saint. 
He admires the pioneer and the soldier ; peril, hardship, and endur- 
ance appeal strongly. It is very evident that biography is the 
lesson material which will have the strongest appeal, but it must 
be biography of the right sort. If in concrete form, in the biog- 
raphies of religious pioneers and heroes of the ages, the strong, 
active, heroic Christian character be presented, ideals and plans for 
life conforming thereto will be formed. If, in the lives of those 
who have wrought most nobly for God, these qualities which have 
a natural appeal to the Intermediate be skillfully and strongly pre- 
sented, his whole nature will be pointed in the direction of Chris- 
tian achievement. Now is the time for the life and character of 
the supreme Hero of the race, Jesus Christ, to be so presented that 
the youth will become intimately acquainted with him. Frag- 



2ia FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

mentary, superficial teaching here is deplorable. The pupil should 
be led to know with thoroughness the whole earthly life of Jesus; 
led into such intimate association with him through the study of 
all the incidents of the gospel history that he will catch his con- 
victions of God and truth, share his feeling toward the Father and 
toward men, and take upon himself the purposes of the Kingdom. 
His tendency to be critical must be remembered, and appeal made 
to his reason. In teaching, something must be left to the intuition 
of the pupil. He will resent even the implication that he is not 
able to draw a proper conclusion, or to make the application. 
Scanty materials, barely presented, will not do. There should be 
wealth and variety of material; it should be suggestive rather than 
too matter-of-fact. Appeal should be made to conscience and to 
reason, as well as to the sentiments. Memory is strong and memo- 
rization should be continued. 

c. Nurture of the Feelings. The most important suggestion to 
be made is that when the new expressions of interest in others — 
sympathy and the desire to help — come, they be promptly utilized. 
"How will you show your sympathy?" should be the teacher's ques- 
tion. If the pupil does not know of a plan, it is for the teacher to 
suggest one and make its execution possible. To fail to find an ex- 
pression in action for the budding altruistic feelings is to stifle their 
life. If the feelings which should normally reveal themselves at this 
time seem to be absent, secure the actions which are their natural 
expression, and it is almost certain that the feelings will follow. 
Here again the importance of example must be urged. "Nothing is 
more contagious than a feeling." The teacher whose sentiments and 
feelings of the right kind are strong and deep will have the satisfac- 
tion of seeing them reproducing themselves in his pupils. 

d. Training of the Will. The tremendous importance of these 
years arises from the fact that they inevitably lead up to years of 
life decision. The middle teen years are the period of life when, for 
most people, the issues of destiny are essentially determined. It is 
not merely that this is a time of strife, of tumult, of conflict, of 
newly developed forces. The strife has issue, the conflict determines 
life ideals, purposes, career, destiny. Supreme life questions are to 
be decided. Great choices are to be made. Shall they be of good 
or of evil, of the higher or of the lower, for God or against him? 
During the Junior period and the first years of the Intermediate the 
boy and girl should be led to the exercise of their own wills and to 
the self-regulation of conduct. It is a serious mistake to deny 
freedom to exercise the will after it has become an adequate agency 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 219 

for the direction of conduct. Very often parents and, less frequently, 
teachers insist upon making decisions for boys and girls when they 
should be guiding them in self-direction. When the independence 
of adolescence has come even the guidance must be indirect; a 
direct suggestion will be resented. 

(3) Direction of Activity. In the early part of this period, as 
before, the "gang" spirit must be recognized and used. Opposition 
and repression are certain to result in failure. Direction may make 
the "gang" and the class coincide. (See below under "Forms and 
Methods of Department Work.") 

(4) Religious Results. 

a. A Complicated Problem. Unless it is realized that religious 
work with the Intermediate is complicated and intricate, disappoint- 
ment and discouragement are certain. Every kind of work with 
him has its difficulties. It is hard to keep him in school. 

The developing sense of freedom often becomes license to do 
anything; lessening restraint and decreased respect for authority 
tend to lawlessness. Misdirected native tendencies take on an evil 
character and often rapidly strengthen until criminal acts against 
both property and persons are committed with impunity. Many 
of the most horrible and atrocious crimes are committed by lads 
under twenty. Our cities have hosts of youths who are lawbreakers, 
many of them vicious criminals. The machinery of the courts is 
kept in motion by youthful criminality. Smaller cities and towns 
have their crowds of loafers and toughs. The parting of the ways 
came during the Intermediate years; the start was made in the 
break with the school or the Sunday school, or both. It was fol- 
lowed by what seemed slight deviations from the path of rectitude ; 
once started in the wrong way, it is a short, quick journey to moral 
bankruptcy. 

In the very nature of the case we must expect difficulties in our 
religious work in the Intermediate Department. It must not be 
thought strange if in some cases we find the Intermediate odd, 
puzzling, and disappointing. He is often a puzzle to himself. If we 
have patience and sympathy and understanding; if we are prepared 
to meet difficult situations and not lose heart; if we are content to 
work on, though we do not see immediate results in all cases ; if 
we are determined to prove ourselves friends, even to the boy who 
is not a friend to himself, our complicated problem will be simplified 
and we will win. 

b. Forms of Religious Experience. The spiritual awakening 
normal to these years need not be in the nature of a distinct break 



220 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

with the past. Normally, it ought not to he. It should come in the 
process of growth, as a development of the religion already existent 
in the life. 

For these pupils have a religious life. It is absolutely essential 
for work of the largest fruitfulness that this should be clearly 
recognized. Little children are religious. Jesus Christ recognized 
them as members of his kingdom. Unless they have by definite, con- 
scious act broken with the religion of early childhood, these Inter- 
mediate pupils are also religious. They may be impulsive, boister- 
ous, impatient of restraint, and may seem unresponsive, yet they 
have within them that grace of God given to every child. They are 
not perfect Christians. They come far short of what adult Chris- 
tians ought to be. They are not yet adults; they are coming into 
adulthood. Likewise, under proper iniiueyice and instruction they 
will come into fuller religious consciousness, clearer realization of 
their life with God, and a more perfect service of God and their 
fellow men. There will come a time when a definite commitment 
and a public acknowledgment should be made. This will be a 
ratification, not a reversal. It will be the grateful acceptance by 
full, free personal choice of the grace of God bestowed upon child- 
hood. The teacher who tactfully, sympathetically, and devotedly 
aids this choice is the one who is to be credited with "bringing 
these boys and girls to Christ" *Ts this, then, 'conversion'?" some 
one is likely to ask. If "conversion" is to be limited in its meaning 
to a change from the conscious sin and alienation from God to obe- 
dience and favor, no. If it is to be thought of in a broader sense, 
yes. The significance of conversion is in its results, namely, estab- 
lishing the life of God consciously in the soul of man. It is just 
this which we have been describing. 

We must not expect the development of the religious life to pro- 
ceed in exactly the same way in every case. There are as many 
"varieties of religious experience" as of temperament, disposition, 
and child-training. We must seek our clue in the individual with 
whom we are dealing and seek to develop him according to the God- 
given law of his own nature. 

Sometimes among Intermediate boys and girls we may find those 
who before coming into the department willfully and deliberately 
turned against God. There are some rebels, even among children. 
By unfortunate associations, by the example and influence of ungodly 
older people their hearts were hardened. Of these there must be 
demanded the submission always to be required of rebels. But we 
must be very careful not to impute rebellion where it does not exist. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 221 

Also we must realize and beware of the subtle power of suggestion. 
The religious life of many a child has been ruined by the repeated 
suggestion that he was "bad," "sinful," and "not a Christian." We 
can help boys and girls more by making them feel that we believe in 
them, and in their desire to be what they ought to be, than in almost 
any other way. 

c. Registering the New and Deeper Purpose. As suggested 
above there should be some open public expression during the In- 
termediate years of the free, personal decision to love and serve 
God throughout life. This decision should be regarded and ex- 
pected as a natural expression of the spiritual awakening of these 
years. It is necessary that proper opportunities for such expres- 
sion be afiforded at the appropriate time. The Intermediate will 
not be likely to make them for himself. The teacher, the pastor, 
and the parent should consult together and cooperate in securing 
the form of expression agreed upon as desirable in the case of each 
pupil. Decision is not to be forced; on the other hand, earnest, 
faithful, tactful means must be used, in order that the life decision 
shall be made and registered before these years are past. If the 
pupil has not come into the Church during the Junior years it 
should be confidently expected that he will now unite with the 
Church as one means of expressing his deeper, freer, more vital 
religious life, and a profession of his purpose to live for God and 
men. 

4. THE INTERMEDIATE DEPARTMENT OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

(i) Organization. No department of the school calls for more 
careful and thorough organization than the Intermediate Depart- 
ment. There should be, at least, a department superintendent, a 
secretary who will keep accurate and permanent department records, 
teachers who will remain within the department from year to year, 
a chorister, and an organist. 

(2) Administration. If possible, the Intermediate Department 
should assemble in separate session. This will be a smaller and 
more compact body, more easily managed, with less tendency to 
disorder, and the program may be especially adapted to Interme- 
diates. The program should provide for worship, instruction, and 
expression. In some cases, especially where the church building is 
small or not well adapted to school purposes, the Intermediate 
Department may hold its session at a different hour on Sunday 
from that of the other departments. A well organized department 
might well hold a week afternoon session in addition to its Sunday 



222 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

session. An abbreviated hour once a week is altogether inade- 
quate to the needs for religious instruction for pupils of Inter- 
mediate age. An extra session would not only make more thor- 
ough work possible, but would also provide an opportunity for sup- 
plemental courses. Provision should be made for regular annual 
promotions into and out of the department. Much may well be 
made of Promotion Day. A department certificate should be used. 

The great majority of Sunday schools are so situated that it is 
impossible to assemble each department of the school separately. 
Many schools cannot have more than two or three separate simulta- 
neous assemblies. Wherever it is at all possible there should be at 
least a Secondary Division Assembly, including the Intermediate 
and Senior Departments. This provides for the separation of the 
classes of these departments from the lower grades on the one hand, 
and from the Organized Adult Bible Classes on the other. Where 
this is done the plan of organization suggested above may well be 
altered to correspond ; thus instead of two separately organized de- 
partments there will be one, the Secondary Department, or Division, 
including all pupils from thirteen to twenty years inclusive. The 
plan is attractive to the younger pupils because of the opportunity 
of being with those somewhat older; the older pupils may be 
trained in service by using them in work with the younger. 

Here is where the work is most difficult, the losses most severe. 
Good management decrees, therefore, that major stress be placed 
upon this part of the work. The Intermediates have too long been 
neglected, to our shame be it said. There is very much to be 
urged by sound sense in favor of considering and treating the 
Secondary Assembly as the main assembly of the school. Both in 
age and in possibilities of effective religious effort the Intermediate 
grades are the center of the school. Let them be so treated. 

(3) Forms and Methods of Department Work. If the depart- 
ment is small, the boys may be formed into a department organiza- 
tion or club, and the girls into a girls' society. Where clearcut lines 
of cleavage separating natural groups are not apparent, there are 
strong advantages in carrying on the activities of a small depart- 
ment through a single organization for the pupils of each sex. 
Such organization will give opportunity to utilize the new social 
instinct. The organization as a whole should engage in some inter- 
esting religious activity. It should go out not only in imagination 
but in deed into the community and into distant fields in definite 
service. 

Whatever organization be adopted, use should be made of the 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 223 

principle of self-government. We owe it to the pupil to develop this 
instinct, which just at this time is craving expression. Besides, we 
will find that our success depends upon it. Boys who are reported 
to be fractious and uncontrollable often appear so because an effort 
has been made to force an alien control down upon them rather 
than expecting them to control themselves. Incorrigible boys are 
mostly boys who are not understood. Their natural powers have 
been opposed instead of utilized. 

The girls of an Intermediate Department may organize as local 
conditions seem to suggest. The nature of the activities undertaken 
will, of course, differ from those of the boys' organization. Large 
emphasis should be placed upon the philanthropic work, which ap- 
peals especially to girls of this age. There should be opportunities 
for the girls to do something with their own hands for the Church, 
and for some objects of need in the community, as well as to give 
to distant missionary fields. 

The physical and social features of the girls' organization should 
be provided for suitably. During this period, the boys and girls will 
prefer to have most of their athletic and social times independently 
of each other. Occasionally, however, they should unite for good 
times under proper supervision. 

Where the department is sufficiently large to have two or more 
classes of boys and the same of girls, preference should he given to 
class organization over departmental organization of pupils. Class 
organization is a powerful factor during these years in holding and 
increasing the activity of the members in religious and social work. 
It will not be found difficult to organize an Intermediate class. 
Organization is in accord with a natural instinct of the period. In- 
tense interest will be taken in forming the organization if the boys 
or girls are given a hand in formulating the plans. A class name, 
class motto, class badge, the class meetings will all be objects of 
pride and enthusiasm. The organization should be simple, pliable, 
and easily subject to change. There should be class officers and 
standing committees, and responsibility should be placed upon 
officers and committee members rather than borne by the teacher. 

To Intermediate classes which conform to a minimum standard 
of organization a Certificate of Recognition is granted. 

(4) Facilities and Equipment. The ideal calls for a separate 
room with provision for separate classrooms. This should be at- 
tractively furnished. For pictures, good portraits ^f historical char- 
acters, national heroes, and missionary heroes are the best. Well- 
chosen mottoes, attractive in form, are also a good thing. Equip- 



224 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

ment should include piano, portable blackboard, bookcase, cabinet 
for accessories for teaching, including stereoscope and stereographs 
of Bible places, secretary's table and records. Equipment for class- 
rooms : tables, strong chairs, and blackboard. 

(5) The Final Test. The supreme test of the work of any Inter- 
mediate Department is the extent to which it succeeds in holding its 
boys and girls, in developing in them an earnest religious life, in 
bringing them into the Church, and in leading them out in religious 
and social service. 

Buildings, equipment, lesson courses, numbers all count for little 
unless these supreme ends are achieved. "Every member of the 
Intermediate Department an avowed Christian and a member of the 
Church," should be the motto of the department in every Sunday 
school. 

To allow our boys and girls to leave the Sunday school during 
these years is both evidence of a lack of vision of our supreme 
opportunity and a confession of weakness. The boys and girls can 
be held if our desire to hold them is sufficiently strong, and we are 
able to address ourselves to the task intelligently. If they are 
allowed to drift away, most of the work of earlier years counts for 
naught. Instruction and expression during the intermediate years 
are absolutely necessary in order to permanence of earlier impres- 
sions. We must face the fact that the loss of pupils from the Sun- 
day school at this time means, in the case of many of them, that they 
are permanently lost to the Church and to the kingdom. If they 
go now, few of them can ever be won back to the Christian life. 

If the Sunday school fails here, it has failed at the crucial point. 
If the Church through its Sunday school fails in holding and enlist- 
ing its own boys and girls at the threshold of adult life, what hope 
can it have of winning from the world? To fail here is to fail 
utterly. We must not fail! God has here given us our supreme 
opportunity. He expects us to win. With his aid we shall win. 
These boys and girls shall be brought into the Church by thousands. 
They shall be trained in Christian service. They shall become stal- 
wart, noble men and women, and through them his kingdom shall 
be established. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

I. If not too far removed from your own early youth 
for memory ta be distinct, prepare a brief autobiographical 
statement, noting correspondences with and divergences 
from the characterization given in this chapter. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 225 

2. Considering further the Sunday school you know best : 
Make a careful examination of the records covering at 
least a five-year period. How many of the eleven and 
twelve-year-old pupils enrolled at the beginning of this 
period remained in the Sunday school through the Inter- 
mediate period? How many left through other causes than 
death or removal? How many came into the church? 

3. Prepare a statement on how you would go about it 
to strengthen the Intermediate work of this school. 

4. Find out where the best Intermediate Department ac- 
cessible to you is. Visit it and make a report on the work. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"When the centuries behind me like a fruitful land reposed; 
When I clung to all the present for the promise that it closed; 
When I dipped into the future far as human eye could see, 
Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonders that would be — 
Mother-age — for mine I knew not — help me as when life begun ; 
Rift the hills, and roll the waters, flash the lightnings, weigh the 
sun." 

— Alfred Tennyson. 

1. General characteristics of the Intermediate: a. Inde- 
pendence; b. Developing Social Instincts; c. Desire for 
Leadership; d. Spiritual Awakening. 

2. The Intermediate's intellect: Developing reason; criti- 
cal because wants to understand. Feelings : wider and 
deeper; easily stirred; subject to extremes; generally un- 
stable. Will: strongly assertive; makes far-reaching de- 
cisions. 

3. Religious education of the Intermediate: (i) Moral 
training, based on the religious feelings. (2) Religious 
nurture — a. Environment, Comradeship ; b. Instruction, 
chief material biography ; c. Nurture of the feelings, find 
expression for the developing altruistic feelings ; d. Train- 
ing of the will, through exercise and guidance in self-regu- 
lation of conduct. (3) Direction of activity — utilization of 
the "gang" and the new social interests. (4) Religious 
ideal — Every member of the department a professed fol- 
lower of Jesus Christ and a member of the Church. 

4. The Intermediate Department: (a) Should be strongly 
organized and (b) meet either separately or together with 
the Senior Department in a Secondary Assembly; (c) it 
should place emphasis upon pupils' organization and ac- 



226 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

tivity; (d) should be adequately equipped; (e) plan its 
program and select its lessons to minister to Intermediate 
interests; and (f), above all, hold its members to the Sun- 
day school and Church, and enlist them in active Christian 
service. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Describe the Intermediate's world. 

Wiiat is meant by adolescence? What are the physical characteristics of 
the period? 

What are the principal interests of the Intermediate? 

Name the chief general characteristics of the Intermediate, and tell what 
you can of each. 

Characterize the Intermediate's intellect; his feelings; his will. 

Why does the conduct of the Intermediate present contradictions? 

What is the strongest basis for moral training in this period? 

What is to be said on the nurture of the feelings in this period? 

Why should neither parent nor teacher make the Intermediate's decisions? 

Show how religious work with Intermediates is a complicated matter. 

Discuss thoroughly the religious life of Intermediates. 

What organization is needed in the Intermediate department? 

Give the most important suggestions on administration; on forms and 
methods of work; on facilities and equipment; on program; on the lesson. 

What is the final test in Intermediate department work? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Religious Life of Intermediates. 

I.W.H.W. Chap. XII. 

2. The Social Awakening. 

I.W.H.W. Chap. XVI. 

3. The Intermediate Girl. 

I.W.H.W. Chap. XV. 

4. Intermediate Department Organization and Equipment. 

I.^y.H.W. Chap. II. 
II; In the Library 

1. By-Laws of Boy Life. 

The Boy Problem, Forbush, Chap. 11. 

2. Development of the Social Instincts. 

Fundamentals of Child Study, Kirkpatrick, p. iiSflf. 

3. The General Character of Adolescence. 

Pedagogical Bible School, Haslett, pp. 137-153. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 227 



CHAPTER XXIX 
MIDDLE AND LATER ADOLESCENCE 

L LESSON STATEMENT 

Middle adolescence extends from seventeen to twenty; later 
adolescence ends at about twenty-five. The law recognizes the 
young man as an adult at twenty-one, at which time it confers upon 
him full powers of citizenship. For this reason it seems best in the 
work of the Sunday school for the Senior Department to corre- 
spond in age limits with middle adolescence, and for the Adult De- 
partment to include all persons twenty-one years of age and over. 

I. THE SENIOR'S WORLD 

To the youth the world is great and glorious. Nothing is com- 
monplace to him. "Life is roseate and all the future is golden." 
He has dreams of conquest. In imagination, the great world 
already lies before him ; it will soon come to feel his power. A 
captaincy, a general's commission, a bishopric, the presidential chair, 
great possessions — the highest place, in whatever vocation he may 
choose, is easily within his reach. 

2. THE SENIOR IN HIS WORLD 

While the Senior's enthusiasm runs high and his ambition is 
unbounded, extreme devotion and splendid renunciation are also 
native to him. Physically, the youth is now almost at his best. 
With most persons growth is complete at about nineteen or twenty. 
Muscular development takes the form, of the perfecting of structure 
and increase of strength. Power of endurance is greatly increased 
and athletic records are now made. 

(i) Interests. His interests have a wide scope, and are as strong 
as they are varied. The permanent interests of the adult attain 
almost if not quite their full strength. A permanent choice of voca- 
tion is now almost sure to be made, or an earlier choice ratified. 
Recreational interests continue strong ; the fondness for athletic con- 
tests reaches its height. The dramatic instinct is strengthened ; the 
sex instinct is increased in power; and the craving for artificial 
stimulation becomes strong. 

(2) Characteristics. 

a. Individuation. The individual traits now show themselves 



228 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

more prominently. The time of self-realization and self-revelation 
is at hand. Individuality has com.e into its own. The members of 
the gang, who, a few years before, apparently had everything in 
common, now stand forth as distinct individuals, each peculiar unto 
himself and inclined to act on his own initiative. The new de- 
velopment of individuality explains many minor traits of the Senior. 

b. Aspiration and Enthusiasm. Now, if ever, the mind aspires 
to things that are high and difficult of attainment. The youth who 
has no dreams of high achievement is an exception and is to be 
pitied, for the Senior's aspiration is more than mere dreaming. His 
enthusiasm makes light of difficulty and scorns all obstacles. 

c. Courage. The Intermediate is boastful in his daring ; the 
Senior has a quiet courage which is more enduring. He is ready for 
any conflict. The greatest wars of history have been fought by 
boys of this age. 

d. New Moral Vision. Moral insight is quickened. Ethical 
discernment, not before possessed, comes to be. Conscience speaks 
with a mighty voice. "Right is mightily right and wrong is tre- 
mendously wrong." The Senior despises casuistry, temporizing, 
compromising with evil. He is outspoken in condemnation of evil 
and evil doers ; he will neither condone nor excuse. He looks to 
see perfection in those who make religious profession. 

e. Criminality. Contradictory as it may seem, criminality is a 
pronounced tendency with many during this period. Character is 
not yet fully set ; the youth vacillates from one moral extreme to 
the other. His daring — amounting often to recklessness — his cour- 
age, love of adventure, abandon, craving for notoriety, all may com- 
bine to overcome the qualities which hold him in moral restraint, 
•and make him a dangerous character. The curve of criminality 
ascends rapidly during this period and reaches its climax at about 
twenty-two. Taking into account minor offenses, eighteen is the 
age of greatest wrongdoing. The sex instinct frequently leads to 
immorality ; the number of American boys who sow "wild oats" 
is discouragingly large. Games of chance now have their strongest 
appeal, and this form of temptation is often yielded to. 

(3) The Senior's Intellect. The mind is more restlessly active 
than ever before. The youth is ready for serious intellectual tasks. 
A list of the great works of the world, representing the output of 
the intellect of youth, would be astonishing. The reasoning power 
now reaches full development. Reason is on the throne; everything 
must bow before it. 

The critical spirit of youth often takes the form of philosophic or 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 229 

religious doubt. This should not be regarded as an alarming char- 
acteristic ; it indicates mental outreach ; it is the youth's way of 
attaining to a world view, and to a religious faith of his own. 

(4) The Senior's Feelings. The development of the preceding 
period continues ; the feelings continue to deepen, but only gradually 
acquire stability. The wavering tendency is not entirely overcome 
until the latter part of the period, or even later. An engrossing 
love affair at seventeen or eighteen is likely to turn into indiffer- 
ence and coldness by nineteen or twenty. Two of the same sex, 
exceedingly fond, may come to cordially dislike each other. Tender- 
ness may be succeeded by cruelty. Boys are peculiarly liable to be 
cruel and unmerciful to dogs, horses, and other animals. Anger is 
intensified and strengthened; it does not pass as quickly as earlier; 
if uncontrolled, it becomes dangerous. Moral convictions are 
stronger and the feeling of duty is more deeply rooted. In general, 
it may be said that all of the altruistic feelings are stronger and 
more influential ; there is a more ready sympathy and very often a 
willingness to make real sacrifice for others. Normally, a steady 
advance may be expected from the self-centered attitude of child- 
hood toward altruism. But this development does not take place 
without conflict. Individuation may take the form of self-conceit 
and self-assertion, leading to pride of ability, wealth, family, or 
position, and the habitual assertion of personal rights. 

(5) The Senior's Will. The will is now rapidly maturing. If 
some instincts which carry in them the possibility of untold evil are 
stronger, the power of self-control is also increased. The youth is 
not so suggestible as the child; he is more independent of impulse. 
He is now likely to hold to his purpose against strong opposition. 

(6) Summary. It may readily be seen that while this period is 
glorious in its promise and in its opportunities, it also has its 
peculiar and grave dangers. If the right foundation has not been 
laid during the earlier periods in the inculcation of ideals and the 
formation of habits, this characterization by Jane Addams is likely 
to be proven true : "They drop learning as a childish thing and look 
upon school as a tiresome task that is finished. They demand pleas- 
ure as the right of one who earns his own living. They are consti- 
tutionally unable to enjoy things continuously and follow their 
vagrant wills unhindered." 

3. THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF THE SENIOR _, 

(i) Moral Training. Appeal may now be confidently made to 
the reason in matters of moral conduct. The altruistic and religious 



230 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

feelings may also be relied upon to respond. Direct personal influ- 
ence and guidance by suggestion are not now as effective as form- 
erly. The foundation of the moral law in reason should be shown, 
rather than its authority invoked. Commands as authority will not 
have great weight, and attempted coercion is almost certain to fail. 
(2) Religious Nurture. 

a. Comradeship, Blessed is the teacher who is able to enter into 
fellowship with the spirit of youth. He will not lack for devoted 
disciples. The deep desire of early youth for some one who can 
understand and, without asking many questions, offer sympathetic 
fellowship, continues. The successful teacher must, first of all, be a 
friend. Both young men and young women often need fellowship 
more than information. Wise personal counsel on the first steps 
toward working out a career will often make possible the realization 
of an unexpressed vision and save a youth from a life of mediocrity. 

b. Instruction. Thoroughgoing, critical study is now in order, 
if ever. The childish things of the mind are put away. The time for 
easy memorization has passed. The Senior wants to get under- 
neath surface facts and inquire into foundations. Young people 
who left school at the eighth grade or before will have their limita- 
tions which must not be overlooked ; for them lessons not too diffi- 
cult must be provided. Others will relish a study of the theoretical 
basis of religion, of biblical introduction, of the teachings of the 
Bible, and of Christian theology. The Sunday school must furnish 
stronger courses of instruction, of a wider variety of theme, than 
in the past. 

Bear in mind that the doubt of youth is a search for the founda- 
tions of truth. The Senior wants to know what he believes and 
why. He is open to reason, waiting to be shown. His questions 
will be satisfied by a sufficient answer. Scorn or rebuke will lead 
him to think they are unanswerable. Now is the time for the mind's 
questionings to be satisfied ; the unresolved doubt of youth settles 
into the unreasoning skepticism and blatant infidelity of adulthood. 

Success in teaching Seniors will depend upon attention to indi- 
vidual differences. More than before the teacher must consider 
his task in terms of the differing interests, temperament, and per- 
sonal problems of his pupils. 

c. Nurture of the Feelings. Altruism is nurtured by service. 
It grows by exercise. Without exercise it withers. It should be 
made plain to Seniors that feeling is not an end in itself; that to 
stop short of the appropriate action suggested by the feeling is to 
deny complete life to it. The teacher should particularly avoid con- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 231 

fusing religion with emotion. Intense emotion indulged under reli- 
gious auspices is not necessarily a religious experience. Young 
people who are not strongly emotional may be true Christians. 

The Sunday school should provide opportunity for religious serv- 
ices of young people in which expression of the religious feelings 
through hymns, prayers, and testimonies is easily possible in an 
atmosphere of fellowship and devotion. 

d. Training of the Will. Young people need to be convinced 
of the moral resources latent in their will power. Show them what 
others have accomplished against great odds by force of will. Make 
them understand that nothing in the way of right is impossible to 
them if the will to prevail is present. Appeal directly to the will ; 
ask things difficult and make them feel that you rely upon them 
to undertake and accomplish them, and you will put them in the 
way of doing worthy deeds, as well as perform for them a notable 
personal service. 

(3) Direction of Activity. The Church and school must find 
definite religious and social tasks for their young people and engage 
them in doing them. Their future activity in the work of the 
Church will depend largely upon the extent to which they are now 
enlisted and trained in Christian service. Other organizations win 
young people by giving them occupation. They are ever ready for 
activity that has practical value. They will do any number of things 
in the name of the Church if they can see results and feel that 
their efforts are appreciated, and in the doing they become strongly 
attached to the Church. Little nothings, without real significance, 
will not appeal to them nor hold them. They must be allowed some 
freedom of initiative and action ; they are no longer children. 

These years are the time when decisions for life work should be 
made. The great fields of social and religious service should be 
held before Seniors and they should be aided in making definite 
choices and encouraged to secure the best possible preparation. 

Jane Addams declares that the recreation of the youth of the 
city is the prime moral problem of our day. The Church's tradi- 
tional policy of repression not only has the inherent weakness of 
being negative, it wholly fails with large numbers of young people, 
whom it alienates. Most young people will have amusement and 
recreation. If the Church will not provide it, they will find it else- 
where. The worst of it is that those agencies t(5 which they turn 
for the satisfaction of instinctive interests are dominated by com- 
mercial motives, without, as a rule, any saving element of ethical 
ideals or altruistic purposes. Surely, the wise direction of recrea- 



232 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

tional activities offers to the Church a supreme opportunity of 
social service which at the same time may be made to directly 
serve the cause of religion. 

(4) Results to be Expected. We should expect to hold to the 
Church and the school all of our young people; we should expect 
all of them to be earnest Christians, members of the Church, able 
to give a reason for their faith, loyal to all good, and active in 
Christian service. 

The results attained in the past have fallen far short of this. 
Most Sunday schools have held only a meager proportion of their 
boys through the Intermediate and Senior periods, in some 
instances less than ten per cent, and of the girls not more than one 
half. The period presents its own peculiar difficulties. The de- 
velopment of individuality and of reason easily degenerates into 
self-sufficiency and intellectual pride. From sources outside of 
schools the youth gains a kind of "knowledge that puffeth up." If 
in an evil hour some serious lapse from virtue or righteousness 
occurs, a keen sense of guilt serves to erect a barrier between him 
and the Church ; or, his desire for fellowship with other young 
people leads him into the company of those who never frequent 
either church or school. Sometimes his enthusiasm in his work 
tends to crowd out religious observances; his absence is unnoticed; 
he comes to feel that no one cares and his heart is hardened against 
the Church. None of these things are impossible to be overcome, 
but because of our slackness or our lack of knowledge all too often 
they are allowed to sunder the bond uniting the youth to the Sun- 
day school and the Church. We must overcome these difUculties. 
To fail in holding our own young people is the greatest and the 
most inexcusable failure the Church could possibly make. There 
could not be a more pitiable confession of weakness. 

If the work in the earlier departments has been well done, very 
few will come into the Senior department without having previously 
committed themselves to a Christian life and to membership in the 
Church. It should be expected that all who have not made the 
great life decision will do so now. Every effort should be made 
to accomplish this result. By earnest, direct instruction; by per- 
sonal appeal at the opportune time; by the wise use of special occa- 
sions; by the cooperation of pastor, superintendent, and classmates 
— ^by the use of every means at command the teacher must insure 
that these pupils shall be won to open, confessed discipleship. The 
danger line in religion is reached at twenty years of age, the close 
of the Senior period. Only one-sixth of all Christians are converted 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 233 

after twenty. With most of these pupils it is now or never. Teacher 
of Seniors : Dare you not to allow one of your pupils to pass out 
of your hands not a professed Christian ! 

In the case of those who do not register a decision for the Chris- 
tian life in the early teen years, conversion is likely to be somewhat 
highly emotional. More or less conflict of impulses and feelings 
is certain to be involved. With the majority, it is necessary for 
the religious emotions to be so heightened as to be able to break 
down the opposing barriers of distrust, selfish desires and conflicting 
purposes. 

5. THE SENIOR DEPARTMENT OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

(i) Organization. The situation calls loudly for a well-organ- 
ized Senior Department. The necessary officers are department 
superintendent, secretary, pianist, chorister, librarian, and ushers. 
With the exception of the superintendent, the officers should be 
selected from among the pupils of the department. A well-organ- 
ized department will insure that more careful attention will be 
given to the interests and needs of the young people. Attention 
will be called to their presence in the school, or the lack of it, 
and plans will be made for securing their attendance in larger 
numbers, and for ministering to them effectively. 

(2) Administration. In the large Sunday school a separate 
session will be found desirable. The strong social interests of 
Senior young people and their longing for fellowship with others 
of their own age makes this especially important. Where this 
is impracticable it may be possible to plan for a Secondary Division 
Assembly. (See p. 222.) 

There should be a close correlation between the organized Senior 
Department and the young people's society, the Epworth League, 
or the Christian Endeavor Society, if one exist in the Church. It 
may even be found desirable to use a common plan of organization, 
the combined organization to meet regularly at the Sunday school 
hour for study, and again in the early evening or on a week night, 
for praise and worship. The Sunday School Board should elect 
the superintendent and teachers, and the society its president and 
other officers. Advantages would be that the interests of the 
young people of the congregation would not be divided between 
two organizations, instruction and activities would be more closely 
correlated, and overlapping and duplication of effort would be 
avoided. 

(3) Class Organization and Activity. The class within the 
department forms a distinct social group. The social group ten- 



234 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

dencies must be taken account of, if the work with the young 
people is to be largely successful. Where the department has two 
or more classes, therefore, class organization should be encouraged. 
The Senior class should have as minimum organization a president, 
secretary and treasurer, and necessary committees. 

The department and class organizations should be used in enlist- 
ing the young people in religious and social service. The interests 
of Seniors embrace the nation and the world ; they readily engage 
in some practical form of missionary enterprise. They may well 
be informed concerning some of the great world movements for 
the righting of ancient wrongs, for peace and the amelioration of 
suffering, and actively associated with them. They should also be 
brought to realize that supreme duty is often the duty lying near- 
est at hand ; that no need of any human being is small or insignifi- 
cant, and that the humblest service is glorified when rendered in 
the name and spirit of Jesus Christ. Such kindly ministries as 
furnishing a room in a hospital, supplying a poor child with cloth- 
ing, carrying gifts and good cheer to the needy at Thanksgiving 
or Christmas should not be confined to the Primary Department. 

The Seniors of a school may often be led to do some difficult 
thing if they are given the responsibility and made to feel that the 
Church looks upon them as workers ; it is not beyond their power 
to provide a Sunday school building, or a gymnasium, or a play- 
ground in a crowded district, or almost anything else which the 
needs of the local situation may require. 

(4) Facilities and Equipment. The requirements are similar 
to those described for the Intermediate Department. 

(5) Program. See statement on Adult Department program in 
the next chapter. 

6. TEACHER TRAINING IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

A primary responsibility of the Church is for the training of 
workers for the Church school. Neglecting this, it will often be 
compelled to depend upon men and women who are unprepared for 
the tasks to which they are called. The work of the Kingdom lags 
for want of trained leaders. In the all-important service of pro- 
viding them the Church school itself must take the chief part. 

The large school will have an organized Teacher-Training De- 
partment, with a principal and one or two other necessary officers. 
This is essential for systematic, permanent effort and for adequate 
result. Even the small school should have a director of teacher- 
training, charged with definite responsibility for the work. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 235 

Most satisfactory results are attained with selected groups of 
young people of the Senior age or just beyond, meeting at the hour 
of the regular session of the school. Every school should have at 
least one such class. In addition, everything possible should be 
done in the way of training those already teaching in the school. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Prepare a brief statement of your own religious de- 
velopment during the ''teen" years. Note especially the 
forces which came into your life to influence you religiously. 

Considering further the church with which you are most 
intimately associated: 

2. Describe the situation affecting young people of the 
Senior age, noting every element in it. 

3. Prepare a statement on what is needed to make the 
work with the young people entirely successful. 

4. If there is anywhere within possible reach a well or- 
ganized Senior Department, investigate it and make report 
on its work. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"You tell me, doubt is Devil-born. 

"I know not : one indeed I knew 
In many a subtle question versed, 
Who touched a jarring lyre at first. 
But ever strove to make it true. 

"He fought his doubts and gathered strength, 
He would not make his judgment blind, 
He faced the specters of the mind 
And laid them : thus he came at length 

"To find a stronger faith his own." 

— Alfred Tennyson. 

1. General characteristics of the Senior: a. Individuation; 
b. Aspiration and Enthusiasm; c. Courage; d. New Moral 
Vision; e. Criminality. 

2. The Senior's intellect: Restlessly active, reason fully 
developed, doubt. Feelings : Development continues, gradu- 
ally acquiring stability; altruistic feelings much strength- 
ened. Will: Rapidly maturing, self-control stronger. 

3. Religious education of the Senior: (i) Moral train- 
ing — appeal to the reason. (2) Religious nurture — a. Com- 
radeship, first of all a friend; b. Instruction, thoroughgoing 



236 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

— material, foundation truths ; c. Nurture of the feelings* 
through service; d. Training of the will, direct appeal for 
will exercise. (3) Direction of activity — Church must pro^ 
vide worth while tasks, also direct recreational activities, 
(4) Religious ideal — All of the young people held, all ear- 
nest, active Christians. 

4. The Senior Department: a. Should be well organized; 
b. meet either separately or together with the Intermediate 
Department in a Secondary Assembly, with its organization 
and activities correlated with those of the young people's 
society; c. it should place emphasis also upon class organi- 
zation and activity; d. should be adequately equipped; e. 
plan its program and select its lesson courses to minister 
to Senior interests ; f . and, above all, hold its members to 
the Sunday school and train them in Christian service. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Why is the Senior Department made to correspond with middle adolescence? 
Give a summary characterization of the Senior. 
What can you say of the Senior's interests? 

Name and comment on each of the general characteristics of the Senior. 
What of the Senior's intellect? Why do young people doubt? 
Describe the Senior's feelings; his will. 
What is the moral appeal to be made to the Senior? 
Why should the Senior's teacher first be a friend? 
What type of instrviction does the Senior need? 
How may the feelings now be best nurtured? 

What is the most important suggestion on will-training in this period? 
What is the responsibility of the Church as regards activities for young 
people? Their recreations? 

What results may be reasonably expected in this department? 

Give important suggestions on organization. On administration. 

Why is class organization important? 

What is to be said of the program? Of the lessons? 

What is the challenge of this department to the Church? 

Suggest best plans for teacher-training. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. Characteristics of the Senior. 

S.W.H.W. Chap. III. 

2. Lack of Success in Religious Work with Seniors. 

S.W.H.W. Chap. X. 

3. How to Teach Religion to Seniors. 

S.W.H.W. Chap. XII. 

4. Ways of Working. 

S.W.H.W. Chap. XVIII. 
II, In the Library 

1. Some Adolescent Difficulties. 

Cos, The Spiritual Life, Chap. II. 

2. Adolescent Extremes. 

Haslett, The Pedagogical Bible School, pp. 187-203., 

3. An Introduction to Youth. 

McKinley, Educational Evangelism, pp. 11-24. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 237 



CHAPTER XXX 

ADULT LIFE 

L LESSON STATEMENT 

Growth does not wholly cease with the attainment of adulthood. 
Certain organs and parts of the body continue to grow until old 
age. Thus adult life is not lived on a dead level ; it has its periods, 
more or less well defined. Speaking broadly, these may be stated 
to be: (a) Young manhood, from twenty-five to forty, the age of 
aggressive action. In this period the constructive and destructive 
forces in the body are about equal, (b) Middle life, from forty to 
sixty, the period of disillusionment. Many of the dreams of youth 
are parted with in this period. The destructive forces now gain 
the ascendency; nevertheless, with most people this is the most pro- 
ductive period of life, (c) Elderly life, from sixty to seventy-five. 
Weakening of the bodily powers is likely to be marked, but with 
those of good physical inheritance, whose habits throughout life 
have been proper, this may be, and not infrequently is, a period of 
ripe fruitfulness. The world owes much to the service of its grand 
old men. (d) Advanced age, from seventy-five on. A period of 
increasing bodily weakness terminating in dissolution. These 
periods are in terms of averages and are subject to individual 
variation. Thoroughness suggests separate treatment of each 
period, but in a brief elementary textbook adult life must be con- 
sidered as a whole. 

I. THE ADULT'S WORLD 

Adult people live in different worlds, for few, perhaps no one, 
views the objective world exactly as it is. One's world is deter- 
mined by his power to see, and vision in turn depends upon a 
variety of things. It is affected by heredity, by environment, by 
education, and these in no two cases are the same. When we 
speak of a man's world as including also his spiritual possessions 
— thought, aspiration, hope, faith, the sum total of all communi- 
cated to him by science, literature, art, institutions, and religion — 
we realize that two men occupying adjoining houses may live in 
worlds as far apart as the planets are from one another. 

2. THE ADULT IN HIS WORLD 
(i) Interests. The interests of adults are well defined and 
stable. A few outstanding general interests are common to many, 



238 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

such as love of home, of family, of children, and of fatherland. In 
addition, each individual has his own special interests, which may 
be few and narrow or numerous and broad, depending upon his 
character and education. 

(2) The Adult Intellect. Normal adult life is characterized by 
clear and sound judgment. The brain is normally the last organ 
of the body to begin to decline. In what the physician styles a 
"green old age" the intellectual powers are stronger than in any 
previous period of life. Reason is dominant. Not infrequently 
there is an aversion to the dogmatism of authority and a sharpen- 
ing of the critical faculties. Experience has taught the mind to be 
wary, and to be on the lookout for exaggeration. The power of 
memorization is greatly decreased, but the power of retaining new 
knowledge through association is strong. Perception is a slower 
process than in youth. 'Tt is as though in early age every state- 
ment were admitted immediately and without inspection, while in 
adult age every statement undergoes an instinctive process of cross- 
examination." Similarly, the mind does not act so readily or 
quickly. There is more of consideration, and this retards action. 

(3) Adult Feelings. As adult life comes on the aesthetic emo- 
tions are more fully developed. If it is nurtured, the interest in 
poetry, art, music, the beautiful in nature steadily increases. Like- 
wise the social feelings strengthen and widen. Love of home and 
family deepens. The chums of youth become the firm friends of 
mature life. The welfare of the community and the state becomes 
an increasing concern. The sympathies are broadened to include 
the unfortunate and the dependent. The heart of man beats in 
unison with the heart of the race. The religious enthusiasm of 
youth becomes the steady purpose, the settled joy and peace of the 
soul which has found its abiding life center. This description is 
of normal development from youth up. If in the early years the 
heart is turned against God, the finer feelings and sentiments 
decline ; the whole soul is dulled and hardened, and much of 
its capacity for sentiment and emotion is lost. 

(4) The Adult Will. The adult of strong character has a reso- 
lute, well-trained, energetic will. He is able to undertake disagree- 
able tasks without self-parley or delay. He has schooled himself 
to endure hardships as a good soldier. Once committed to an 
undertaking he carries it through against all obstacles. An act of 
will with the adult is not as simple a process as with a child. For 
one thing, calculation enters more largely into it ; again, action is 
urged or impeded by pride, and convention, and prejudices, and 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 239 

most of all by strongly developed habits. Nevertheless, the forces 
of a strong will are sufficient to break over all impediments and 
attain. On the other hand all of us are acquainted v^ith weak, 
irresolute persons of whose stand for right we are never certain and 
who are always sure to be carried away by a strong wind of tempta- 
tion. 

(5) Moral Characteristics. It is to be borne in mind that we 
are likely to have in the adult school people from all walks of life, 
and of widely varying attainments in character. There will be 
some who have grown up within the Church and Sunday school ; 
there should be many from among the unchurched masses, people 
who, if they were in the Sunday school in childhood, either left it 
very early or were influenced little by it. Thinking especially of 
the latter class, those whom the Sunday school as an evangelizing 
agency should desire to reach and help, we are likely to find the 
situation as affects morals and religion somewhat as follows : 

a. Deficient Idealism. Life has become dull and commonplace. 
It is a treadmill. It has much of routine and of monotony. The 
bright dreams of youth have not been realized and no others 
have come to take their place. The sharp edge has been worn 
off of ambition. There is a complacent toleration of things as they 
are, sometimes mingled with bitterness and not a little complaining. 

b. Religious Indifference. There are multitudes of people 
within the Church whose connection with it is merely nominal. 
They attend the preaching service seldom and other services not 
at all. Their lives perhaps have been busy and overburdened and 
they have allowed themselves to lapse into religious torpor. Their 
neighbors and acquaintances outside of the Church are wholly 
indifferent. There is a modicum of religious belief and sentiment 
hidden away in their nature, but they give no recognition to reli- 
gion except when death or some overwhelming calamity stirs the 
almost dried up fountains of the soul. 

c. Material-Mindedness. The positive side of the last men- 
tioned characteristic is that the affections are set on material 
things. With some, life is a continual struggle for the things 
necessary to existence. Hard conditions thrust material considera- 
tions continually to the forefront. With even a larger number 
prosperity has unbalanced spiritual judgment, with the result that 
the men are money-mad and the women think only of dress and 
display and amusement. 

d. Sensuousness. With almost unbelievably large numbers of 
our brother men the animal natufe has obtained dominance. The 



240 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

sensual sins of men annually bring destruction and death to thou- 
sands of the weaker sex. The wide prevalence of diseases which are 
the certain crop of sensuality is attested by the testimony of physi- 
cians everywhere. The chief ally of the immoral life, intemper- 
ance in drink, is fearfully prevalent, and its ravages are extending 
more and more among women. 

e. Petty Sins. Many people who are never guilty of gross 
sensual crimes persistently keep their better self in the background. 
Capable of strong resistance to evil, they allow their nobler pur- 
poses to be vanquished by petty enemies. Little meannesses of dis- 
position are constantly manifest. They exhibit spite, envy, jeal- 
ousy, and hatred. They are stingy, or cross, or selfish. They are 
guilty of slander, backbiting, or circulating salacious stories. They 
commit little frauds, are deceptive and deceitful. They cannot be 
trusted ; they will lie and steal. In politics they will resort, if need 
be, to bribery and fraud to gain their ends. In business, the short 
yardstick, unjust weights and measures, adulteration of food prod- 
ucts, harsh regulations governing employees are all too common. 

These characteristics constitute an unattractive picture. We wish 
it might be truly declared overdrawn. It might be relieved some- 
what by a portrayal of virtuous qualities to be seen in the same 
people. No man or woman is wholly bad. Some of the worst of 
men have outstanding qualities of goodness. Some vile sinners 
are attractive, even lovable. 

(6) Social Characteristics. Adult people have strong social 
needs. "We likes people better as stumps," said a foreign-speak- 
ing woman in explanation of the return of the family from the 
Minnesota frontier to the crowded city tenement. It is between 
twenty-five and forty that the largest proportion of men enter the 
fraternal organizations. The intimate fellowship, interest, and 
sympathy of a group of people of like age are very attractive to 
both men and women. 

3. THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF THE ADULT 

The opportunity of religious education is not now what it was 
earlier. Life is now settled in well-defined molds of thought, feel- 
ing, and will. Habits are formed and hardened. "It is not easy," 
said Martin Luther, "to teach an old dog new tricks, and there- 
fore much of our labor is spent in vain." While the significance of 
childhood and youth for moral and religious education is recog- 
nized as never before, there is coming to be also a clearer realiza- 
tion that education should not cease with youth. Says President 



,| OF TEACHER TRAINING 241 

Eliot, "It has been too much the custom to think of education as 
an affair of youth ; it really should be the work of the whole life." 
(i) Religious Nurture. There are certain conditions likely to 
be present in adult life which afford a special religious oppor- 
tunity. 

a. DisiLLtjSioNMENT. The youth was eager to try the world. 
He wanted to taste and see. He was impatient with anything which 
seemed to compel restraint ; he was unwilling to give up promised 
joys and pleasures. If the adult is disillusioned concerning his 
own career, he is also disillusioned concerning the vain pomp and 
false promises of "the world." Promised satisfactions have turned 
to Dead Sea apples at his touch. The glitter and glamour of sin 
are gone. The scales are fallen from his eyes and he sees things 
as they are. While he may be wedded to his idols, it is likely that 
at heart he despises himself for what he is and longs to be some- 
thing different. 

b. Spiritual Hunger. If the soul has not found its life-center 
in God, there are inevitably deep spiritual longings. Under the 
indifference and utter neglect of religion there is yet a sense of 
deficiency and the faint stirrings of spiritual purpose. There are 
hours when the soul cries out for the satisfaction of these long- 
denied needs. There are times when revolt against the dominance 
of the lower self is threatened. 

c. Need for Comfort and Inspiration. Life is full of hard ex- 
periences for most people. Disappointment, grief, and loss are very 
prevalent. The burdened hearts are many. The hard, incessant 
struggle discourages many. People are hungry for consolation 
and for spiritual inspiration, and they seek the place where these 
are given. 

These conditions constitute an opportunity peculiar to adult life. 
In meeting it the need is not so much for information as for 
inspiration. It is not merely facts that are needed, but the stimula- 
tion of hope, and faith, and courage, and spiritual desire. These 
adults need to see Jesus Christ and to be assured that a Christlike 
life is possible to them. They need to have vision imparted, the 
renewing and spiritualizing of the lost vision of youth. All this 
is to be done, not through exhortation or preaching — that is the 
function of the preaching service of the Church — but through the 
close, intimate unfolding to them of the Word of God. 

(2) Instruction. For many adults the Bible class has a. distinct 
intellectual mission. Not infrequently the clearing away of mis- 
conceptions and prejudices and the laying of a foundation of Chris- 



242 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

tian truth is necessary before the assent of the mind can be gained 
to a Christian life. Those who have become Christians in mature 
life, or who, committing themselves to a religious life in youth, 
were not instructed, need to be taught the fundamental truths of 
Christianity. The modern aversion to dogma ought not to blind 
us to the need for a mastery of the great doctrines of the Christian 
faith. Our religion is now being opposed on our own soil by other 
ancient faiths, not to speak of innumerable modern cults. The 
intelligent Christian must be able to give a reason for the faith that 
is within him. The principles of Protestantism, as opposed to 
Romanism, should be understood. 

Again, many Christians have narrow views of the religious life. 
Their conception of the relation of religion to business, to social 
relationships, to politics, is superficial and narrow. They need 
enlightenment. They need to be acquainted with the careers of 
the prophets. They need to know the teachings of the prophets, of 
Jesus, and of the apostles, on social and civic duties. The range 
of their interests and efforts is circumscribed. They need to be 
made acquainted with the purposes of God for the world, that their 
prayers and deeds may go out to the ends of the earth. 

These considerations make it clear that a broad, comprehensive 
curriculum of religious education for adults is required in order to 
meet the needs of the situation. A uniform course for all classes 
is altogether inadequate. A variety of courses should be available 
in order that the needs of widely different classes may be met. 

The method of teaching will vary with different classes. Usually^ 
it will be the method of free discussion, in which the teacher will 
be the leader. 

(3) Development of the Feelings. Effort for the development 
of the aesthetic feelings should not be neglected, even though the 
response now is not so ready as earlier. Some appreciation of the 
beautiful in art and literature and nature may be gradually built up. 
The organized class can do much through carefully planned com- 
mittee work to develop the social feelings. The ministry to 
poverty, sickness, or suffering through carrying out a class assign- 
ment stimulates altruistic feelings, especially when it follows upon 
the right kind of teaching. This is intimately connected with the 
building of Christian character. Sympathy, brotherly love, and 
kindness are at the basis of Christian ethics. 

(4) Exercise of the Will. The real test of the teacher's work 
is in getting the will to act. Facility in exciting feelings is not the 
measure of successful teaching. A chief part of the significance 



OF TEACHER TRAINING . 243 

and worth of emotions and sentiment is in their power to move the 
will. If they stop short of that, they are barren and unfruitful. 
It is to be noted that the appeal of Jesus is primarily to the will, 
rather than to the intellect or the feelings. "Follow me," is his 
command. "Whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my 
brother." "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the 
doctrine." The adult teacher does well to emulate the Master. 
Appeal to the will. Impress the idea that the man and the woman 
can live a Christian life if they will ; they can do a worthy work 
for God if they will. Point out the path and bid them in God's 
name follow it. In the effort to secure decision keep the idea of 
the desired action constantly before them. Remember the relation 
of attention to decision. It is good discipline even for adult 
Christians to do disagreeable tasks every once in a while. "I do 
not want to do that" is a very good reason for undertaking it. 
Power of will is being generated for some future occasion when 
it will be greatly needed. 

(5) Direction of Activity. For not a few, the chief function 
of the Adult Department w^ill be as a school of practice. It will 
be the means by which the rich feelings and good purposes of 
earnest Christians will be utilized. It will suggest ways and plans 
of service and see that they are carried out. It will thus educate 
and train good Christians to be better Christians. The latent senti- 
ment and conviction of many a congregation is sufficient to effect 
potent reforms and accomplish much good. The Adult Depart- 
ment may provide the means of awakening and applying these and 
thus benefit both the individuals themselves and the community. 

(6) Results to be Expected. The adult teacher should have 
patience. The results of his labors will not appear in a day. The 
efforts of weeks and months and years may culminate some day in 
a sudden breaking up of the great deeps of the nature ; in a conver- 
sion which will be a profound, revolutionary change, a wonderful 
manifestation of the power of God to transform and renew a sin- 
ful human being. For this let the teacher pray and believe. With 
others there may be httle perceptible change in years. Let the 
teacher not despair. Let him have faith in the truth of God and 
in human nature. His work as a teacher of the gospel, if it be well 
and faithfully done, will not be in vain. The transforming power 
of the truth will in time be in evidence. 

With the members of the Adult Department the Church school 
is to do its final work. It is to make complete Christians — patriotic 
and loyal citizens, conscientious and sympathetic neighbors, self- 



244 . FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

sacrificing and devoted parents, true, faithful, loving, obedient sons 
and daughters of God. It is to cooperate with God in his supreme 
work of making full-orbed men, described by President Faunce as 
"men of keen sense, of trained intellect, of warm hearts ; men rich 
in imagination and emotion; men of power to resolve, to initiate, 
to administer, to achieve; power to see swiftly, judge accurately, 
decide immediately; to love deeply and hate persistently, and grow 
forever — men such as all the past of human history now should 
culminate in producing." 

4. THE ADtJLT DEPARTMENT OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

Adults should have as large a place as children in the plans of 
the Church school. The well organized school will have, therefore, 
a strong Adult Department. This is the only way in which it is 
possible to provide an adult school of religion in which adequate 
provision shall be made for the religious education of all the adult 
people of the church and community. It is not enough that there 
shall be one or two, or even several large adult classes in the Sun- 
day school. It is required that local needs be studied, comprehen- 
sive plans made for meeting them, classes called into existence for 
special groups of people, and existing classes properly related and 
their work coordinated. An adult department makes it possible for 
all this to be done. Without an organization uniting organized 
classes, and relating work for adults to the school as a whole, as 
one of several departments, large classes are likely to become inde- 
pendent and more or less separated from the school in spirit. By 
means of an adult department this tendency may be entirely obvi- 
ated. 

(i) Organization. The organization should be simple in form, 
with few officers, but great care should be taken to choose people 
as officers who have the ability and strength to make the depart- 
ment popular and efficient. There will be needed at least a depart- 
ment superintendent, secretary, pianist, chorister, and ushers or 
committee of welcome. The superintendent, teachers, and officers 
together should constitute an adult department council. 

(2) Administration. In the Sunday school of medium or large 
numbers an Adult Assembly will be found advantageous both to the 
adult interests of the school and to the lower departments. Where 
this is wholly impossible because of no facilities, there may be a 
combined Adult and Secondary Division Assembly. 

(3) Class Organization and Activity. It is highly desirable 
for the adult classes to be organized. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 245 

a. Service of Organization. The values of class organization 
have been demonstrated in thousands of cases within recent years. 
It is a chief means by w^hich the latent resources of the class may 
be revealed, and utilized in service. No one ever knows what the 
members of an unorganized class are capable of doing. Organiza- 
tion sets people to work, and gives them a chance to demonstrate 
what they can do. If they themselves do not know, it bids them find 
out by attempting something. It is a constant reminder that activity 
is expected. It suggests ways in which the inspiration of the teach- 
ing hour may be put to use. Organization provides the means for 
class growth. Responsibility for inviting people to membership is 
definitely placed. The example and the suggestion of leaders pro- 
vides the stimulus necessary to make other members of the class 
active. A class consciousness is created which is a decided help. 
The members have a strengthened sense of belonging to something 
which they are bound to support and work for. 

b. Form of Organization. A definite form of organization is 
required in order to recognition by the Church and by interdenomi- 
national associations, namely : The class must have in addition to 
the teacher, a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer, 
and at least three committees — membership, devotional, and social. 
It must be composed of people over twenty-one, and must be in- 
tegrally connected with some Sunday school. This minimum 
organization may be increased by additional officers and com- 
mittees as the situation makes advisable. 

c. Distinctive Purpose. Each organized class should Individual- 
ize itself. It will succeed best not by imitating the organization 
and activities of other classes, but by defining its own scope and 
object as distinct from others. There are various types in almost 
every church, groups of people of differing interests, tastes, and 
needs. Let the class find itself as the instrument of a specialized 
service. 

d. Size. Large numbers should not, as a rule, be made an object. 
The big class ceases to be a class and becomes merely an audience, 
sometimes a rival to the church congregation. The class teacher 
is not a preacher or lecturer, but a leader of discussion, and a class 
of more than forty becomes unwieldy. Activity of the members 
decreases as the size of the class increases. 

e. Class Activities. There are innumerable forms of service in 
which adult classes may engage. It should not be the ambition of 
the class to do everything, but, rather, to have its own distinctive 
class activities, certain forms of religious and social work peculiar 



246 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

to itself. Class activities should not be a duplication of the work 
of the church as a whole but, instead, a form of specialization. 
The activity of the class will depend largely upon the officers. The 
average class is willing to be led, but lacks initiative and needs 
active direction. There is much unutilized religious enthusiasm, 
sentiment, and energy in adult classes. The ability of the officers 
is put to the test in the effort to develop and use this interest and 
energy in social and religious channels. Classes are saying to their 
leaders: "Now we are organized, what can we do?" The resource- 
fulness of the officers must show itself equal to the opportunity and 
direct the class in practical service. The combined influence of 
many individuals may thus be constituted a powerful factor in meet- 
ing the social, moral, and religious needs of the community. 

The organized adult class may be an effective evangelistic agency. 
There is no means of winning men and women which has in it 
larger possibilities for continuous use. The members of the class 
by aggressive effort can bring in unchurched people in large num- 
bers. The fellowship of Christians and the teaching of the Word, 
if warmed and pointed by evangelistic passion, will surely have 
result in the winning of those not Christians. 

(4) Facilities and Equipment. In most cases the Adult Depart- 
ment will necessarily meet in the church auditorium. Where classes 
can have individual classrooms this is an advantage. The class 
favored with a room for its own use should take pride in furnish- 
ing it, making it homelike and pleasant. 

(5) Program. The major part of the time should be given to 
the lesson presentation and discussion. The opening exercises of 
the department should be brief, never exceeding, all told, fifteen 
minutes. Avoid elaboration, or making them in any sense a dupli- 
cation of the church service. Commonly too much time is taken for 
announcements and perfunctory matters of no importance. 

(6) Finally. Construct plans for the Adult Department which 
will appeal to men and women. It is not a childish affair, and it 
should not appear so. Give it a dignity and importance which 
will appeal to the thoughtful, and to active men of affairs. "Cer- 
tainly," said a prominent professional man, "I will join your men's 
class if you purpose something big." Remember that it takes ambi- 
tious plans to appeal to earnest, ambitious people. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

I. Visit and study two or three different types of succes- 
ful Adult classes : Describe each ; tell why each is popularly 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 247 

counted successful; state what you regard to be the peculiar 
elements of strength and of weakness of each. 

2. Visit a large organized Adult class and study its 
methods. What are the principal means used to gain new 
members ? What to you are the most attractive features of 
the class? 

3. Considering further the school you know best: How 
would you proceed to improve the adult work of the school ? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"Grow old along with me! 
The best is yet to be, 
The last of life, for which the first was made : 
Our times are in His hand 
Who saith, 'A whole I planned, 
Youth shows but half; trust God; see all, nor be afraid.' " 

— Robert Browning. 

1. Periods of Adult Life: a. Young Manhood, from 
twenty-five to forty ; b. Middle Life, from forty to sixty ; 
c. Elderly Life, from sixty to seventy-five; d. Advanced 
Age, from seventy-five on. 

2. The Adult intellect: Clear sound judgment, sharpened 
critical faculties, reason dominant, memory power de- 
creased, perception slower. Feelings: Normally stronger 
and deeper, more reliable and steady. Will : Normally reso- 
lute, well trained, energetic, an act of will a more com- 
plicated process. 

3. Moral characteristics of many unevangelized — a. 
Deficient Idealism; b. Religious Indifference; c. Material 
Mindedness; d. Sensuousness ; e. Petty Sins. 

4. Religious education of the Adult: (i) Conditions 
affording a special opportunity for religious nurture, a. Dis- 
illusionment ; b. Spiritual Hunger; c. Need for Consolation. 
(2) Instruction — right conceptions of Christianity, funda- 
mental truths, principles of Protestantism, teachings of 
prophets, of Jesus, and of apostles. (3) Development of the 
feelings — efforts for, to be continued. (4) Exercise of the 
will: the will is central, appeal to it. (5) Direction of 
activity: the department a school of practice to train and 
develop Christians. (6) Religious ideal, complete Christian 
character. 

5. The Adult Department: (a) Should be simply. 



248 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

strongly organized, with (b) its classes also organized, in 
order that many adults may be brought in and enlisted in 
active service; (c) most often it will meet in the church 
auditorium, (d) will give the time principally to the class 
sessions, and (e) will have a broad and comprehensive 
curriculum with courses suited to the various classes. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Name and describe the different periods of adult life. 

How is it that two neighbors may live in two different worlds? 

Characterize the interests of adults. 

Describe the adult intellect; adult feelings; adult will. 

Name some moral characteristics common among unevangelized people. 

What is to be said of the social needs of adults? 

Why is adult religious education difficult? 

What probable conditions afiford an opportunity for religious nurture? 

State the mission of instruction of the adult class to different groups of 
people. 

How may the feelings yet be developed? 

Describe the importance of the will. 

What can you say of the function of the Adult Department as a school of 
practice ? 

What results are to be expected? 

For what special reason shovild the adult work be emphasized? 

Give the most important suggestions on organization. On administration. 

What is the service of class organization? 

What are the requirements for recognition? ; 

Give some ideals as to purpose, size, and activities of the class. 

Why should the class session have the major part of the hour? 

What are the requirements touching the Adult Department curriculum? 

Give important final suggestions on adult work. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Adult Class and the School. 

A.W.H.W. Chap. III. 

2. Building a Strong Class. 

A.W.H.W. Chap. XVIII. 

3. Religious Work of the Class. 

A.W.H.W. Chap. XIV. 

4. Social Service of the Class. 

A.W.H.W. Chap. XVI. 
II. In the Library 

1. Principles of Adult Class Study. 

Adult Class Study, Wood, Chap. III. 

2. The Breadth of Religious Experience. 

The Religion of a Mature Mind, Coe, Chap. VIII. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 249 



CHAPTER XXXI 

LESSONS FOR THE GRADES 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

We have made a study of the pupil through the various periods 
of development; we have studied the problem of moral training 
and religious nurture in each period, giving some consideration, in 
general terms, to the materials of instruction. In this chapter v^e 
are to consider more specifically what the developing nature of the 
pupil requires in the way of lessons. 

Our determining principle, the primacy of the pupil, requires us to 
approach the whole subject of lessons from the standpoint of the 
pupil. Our study has revealed certain clearly ascertained interests 
and needs. Our problem therefore becomes, What are the lessons 
which will be most effective in meeting these interests and needs f 

I. GRADED LESSONS REQUIRED 

(i) Only graded lessons can fully minister to the interests 
and needs of a developing life. A brief consideration will make 
clear this general, preliminary proposition, that the lessons must 
be graded. Our study has shown the pupil himself to be graded ; 
he is a developing being, with different interests and needs in the 
different periods of his developing life. We can aid his develop- 
ment only as we effectively meet his interests and needs in each 
period. Only that teaching which is within his experience and on 
the plane of his normal interests will be appropriated by the pupil. 
The law that must govern the selection of the teaching material is 
the law written by the finger of God within the child's own nature. 

The question is not with regard to the importance of the truth 
embodied in any particular lesson, or the desirability of that truth's 
finding a permanent place in the pupil's mind. If the pupil is to 
grow spiritually, he needs immediate help, just that truth which is 
suited to meet to-day's need. The lesson will not suffer by being 
made to wait ; the pupil may. 

The need for graded instruction has become too clear, and the 
demand for it too insistent to be lightly ignored. A uniform lesson 
cannot be made to effectively serve a graded pupil. ^ Nor should 

^Reasons of expediency may make it allowable to continue the use of uni- 
form lessons in some cases where the pedagogical superiority of graded lessons 
is clearly recognized. It is important, however, that the reasons alleged should 
be real, and not merely fancied, ones. 



250 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

the teacher be confused by arguments which insist on the possi- 
bility of adapting a uniform lesson to the different grades. If the 
right kind of lesson is selected for each grade, it will not need to 
be adapted. Adaptation is artificial and external ; no amount of 
adaptation in lesson treatment will change the character of the 
lesson itself. In general education it has become axiomatic that 
teaching beneficial to a later stage may be not only unsuitable but 
even detrimental to a mind at an earlier stage. The case is not 
different with religious instruction ; we are dealing with the same 
pupil. As Miss Baldwin says, "Paul was probably not an adept in 
child study, but he knew the Bible and speaks of it as containing 
both milk and strong meat, and the ancient Jewish Church forbade 
the reading of the book of Ezekiel by any under thirty years of 
age, thus carrying grading to an extreme not dreamed of even 
to-day." 

(2) Only a Graded Curriculum Can Make the Most of Special 
Religious Opportunities in the Life. Our study has shown critical 
periods in spiritual development which furnish special opportunity 
for religious instruction. It is of the utmost importance that the 
most be made of these. The iron must be struck while it is hot. 
Lessons specially adapted to these periods must be provided. 
It will not do to depend upon just any lesson which the revolving 
wheel of a uniform cycle may chance to offer at such a time. The 
peculiar needs of the particular crisis must be allowed to determine 
the lessons. 

(3) Only a Graded Curriculum Can Give to the Pupil a 
Sense of Progression from Year to Year. The boy or girl likes 
to feel that he is getting ahead. He has a natural interest in making 
progress. The prospect of promotion is an incentive to study by 
which the Sunday school may well profit. One of the unfortunate 
features of the Uniform Cycle is that when the pupil has been in 
Sunday school for six years and has arrived at that period when 
his interest in religion should be most keen, he starts for the 
second time on the round of lessons. This seems to him like going 
back to the lessons of childhood, a step which he resents ; they 
have now neither newness nor freshness but are familiar, common- 
place, dull. 

(4) Only a Graded Curriculum Can Be Correlated with the 
Education of the Public Schools. Sunday school teaching will 
be given additional interest, and religion will be more likely to be 
thought of in terms of everyday living, if there is some measure 
of correlation between the instruction of the Sunday school and the 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 251 

public school. Religion has too often been separated from life, 
treated as a thing apart. We must knit up our religious teaching 
with the everyday life and tasks of our pupils. 

(5) Only a Graded Curriculum Can Teach the Bible in the 
Order in which in the Good Providence of God it Came into 
Existence. The Bible was a growth. The truth of the Bible was 
unfolded as a gradual revelation. For this reason this same truth 
may now be so arranged in graded lessons that the Bible will grow 
with the growing child. While there are strongly marked excep- 
tions, nevertheless the statement frequently made in recent years 
holds as a general proposition, namely, that the books of the Bible 
are arranged in correct pedagogical order — the earlier parts of the 
Old Testament for the little child, the history, the prophecies, and 
the Gospels for the child and the youth, and the Epistles for the 
mature mind. 

(6) Only a Graded Curriculum Enables the Teacher to Be a 
Specialist. Under the graded system, the teacher is the teacher of 
a particular grade, or at least a department teacher, and is thus 
enabled to become both a lesson specialist and a specialist in deal- 
ing with pupils of a particular age. This is certain to greatly 
enhance the quality of the teacher's work. 

2. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE GRADED CURRICULUM 

An initial selection of lessons for the grades is no slight task. 
We agree fully with Pascal Harrower : "It will certainly require as 
careful consideration, as broad and thorough knowledge of the 
child as are involved in the matter of secular education. We are 
not to consider such a question settled by past experience. Nothing 
could more fairly command the attention and study of our wisest 
educators. And it cannot be expected that the Church can properly 
solve this question until she has called to her aid those who are 
qualified experts in matters of education." ^ Some excellent work 
has already been done in this field, and recognized experts continue 
to give attention to it. Our statement must be in broad, simple 
terms upon which general agreement has been reached. 

(i) Lessons for Beginners. It seems to be universally agreed 
that the story is the ideal vehicle of instruction in the earliest years 
of childhood. It best meets the need of the child for the vivid, 
the imaginative, and the concrete. The life of the home, the 
dependence upon the loving care of parents, the enlarging sense 
experiences guide us in the selection of material. The stories will 

^Principles of Religious Education, p. 112, 



252 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

therefore present God as our loving Father, ever near, our pro- 
tector, who supplies all our needs. There will also be stories of 
God as the maker of all things, and of God and nature. To the 
Beginners' teachers, as to Jesus, the flower and the tree, the wind 
and the storm, the mountain and the star will be the means by 
which God is brought near and made real to his children. There 
will also be stories of childhood, of the infant Jesus, and of the 
child life of the religious heroes of the race — Joseph, Moses, Samuel, 
and David. Other stories will acquaint the little ones with Jesus 
as the Friend and Saviour of children. 

(2) Lessons for Primary Pupils. The story continues to hold 
first place as a means of lesson teaching. The material will not 
differ decidedly from that used in the preceding period, but it will 
cover a wider range and will not need to be quite so simply ex- 
pressed. The stories will tell about the heavenly Father with the 
purpose of revealing more fully his fatherly love and care and 
awakening the answering love and loyalty in the heart of the child. 
There will be stories intended to inculcate patience, kindness, obe- 
dience, and love, and care for the weak and the helpless. Other 
lessons will more fully acquaint the children with Jesus, his love 
for us, his deeds of kindness and lowly service, and how he 
came to do the will of the Father. These lessons will be followed 
by stories of people who chose to be like Jesus, to do the will of 
God, and live the life of love and service for others. These lessons 
will be found both in the Old Testament and in the New. The 
presence in the Bible of so many stories, parables, concrete inci- 
dents, and examples makes it in a unique sense a children's book. 

(3) Lessons for Juniors. Instruction in the form of the story 
continues during this period to make the strongest appeal ; most 
of the lessons should be presented as stories. The hero interest 
and the interest in action are supreme. The material selected will 
therefore consist principally of hero stories in which action pre- 
dominates ; stories of heroic men and brave women, pioneers, 
explorers, and warriors. The incidents which present examples of 
moral heroism, love of truth, devotion to the right, consecration 
to the service of God should be emphasized. The Bible gallery 
of heroes is an extensive one. In the Old Testament the Juniors 
should become familiar with Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, 
Joshua, Caleb, Samuel, Samson, and David, as well as such later 
heroes as Nehemiah and Judas Maccabeus. The stories of these 
heroes should be presented in such order as will give to the pupils 
some conception of the course of development of Old Testament 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 253 

history. Of yet greater importance are the two outstanding heroes 
of the New Testament narrative. Jesus' ministry of service should 
become very well known. Paul, the brave traveler and missionary, 
will be attractive. The pupils should read the stories in the Bible 
for themselves. 

(4) Lessons for Intermediates. The literature of heroism must 
continue through this period to be the source of lesson material. 
The emphasis may gradually be shifted from what the hero did to 
the hero himself — from action to the springs of action. The Inter- 
mediate is still interested in the battles of the warrior and the 
exploits of the pioneer and the explorer, but it is the warrior soul, 
the spirit of the pioneer, which most attract him. He has entered 
into a fullness of life which he has not known before ; deeper 
m.otiveSj strong purposes, new ideals surge up within his being. We 
can help him most as we acquaint him with those springs of spir- 
itual life in the inner life history of heroic characters. By the fif- 
teenth year, Intermediates are ready for a thorough historical study 
of the life of Christ. The whole course of his life should be care- 
fully traced from the years of boyhood to his supreme sacrifice. 
There is no period of life capable of more whole-souled, unself- 
ish devotion to Jesus Christ than this, and the study should 
be expected to lead to a full, complete life dedication to the one 
perfect Hero of the race. This study should be regarded as the 
climax of all that has gone before and the most earnest efforts 
should be made to insure favorable conditions for the expected 
result. Following this, there should be a study of the teachings 
of Jesus, as presenting his ideal of life, including a treatment of 
Christian duties. 

(5) Lessons for Seniors. Young people of Senior age are 
ready for a serious study of Bible history. In the high school they 
study ancient history, and it will be an advantage for the two to 
be linked together. From one to two years may profitably be given 
to this. The work should be well done. We agree with Driver : 
'Tt ought assuredly to be possible to so teach the Old Testament 
to boys and girls that they shall have nothing to unlearn on the 
score either of history or of science." The history of the early 
Church follows naturally. It will not do to omit some study of 
the expansion of Christianity, and the growth of the Church 
through the later centuries. The Protestant Reformation and the 
modern missionary movements are very important subjects of study. 
In teaching these courses two aims must ever be kept in view : 
first, to meet frankly the doubts and the critical questions which the 



254 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

pupil is almost sure to have in mind and to answer them in such a 
way as to clarify his moral and religious beliefs ; second, so to pre- 
sent the material as to strengthen his religious desires and pur- 
poses and inspire him to immediate service. A select num.ber should 
be enlisted in training for Sunday school teaching. An oppor- 
tunity for this which will never come again is presented in these 
years.^ 

(6) Lessons for Adults. The principal sources of lesson courses 
for adults will be the Gospels and the Epistles in the New Testa- 
ment, and the Psalms and Prophets in the Old Testament. The 
adult curriculum should be broad and comprehensive with oppor- 
tunity for choice. There should be courses in Christian doctrine, 
in Protestant principles, and in denominational history and polity. 
There is great need for the study of Christian social duties. Par- 
ents should have an opportunity to study child nature and child 
nurture. 

IL CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Secure an outline of some completely graded course 
and compare with the statements of this chapter, noting 
agreements and divergences. 

2. Talk with a number of teachers who are not using 
graded lessons and ascertain their reasons for not using 
them. 

3. Consult some successful teachers of graded lessons 
and ascertain why they consider them superior to uniform 
lessons. 

4. Talk with some of the pupils in a class where graded 
lessons are being successfully taught and get their views 
concerning them. 

IIL MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Definition of a graded curriculum: A graded curricu- 
lum is one in which the materials of instruction, or lessons, 
for each age (grade) are determined by the abilities, inter- 
ests, and needs of the pupils of that age. 

2. Reasons why graded lessons are required. Memo- 
rize the six reasons given in this chapter. 



^Several diflferent series of graded lessons are now available for the use of 
Sunday schools desiring to provide graded religious instruction. One of the 
best of these, the one in most general use, is the International Graded Series. 
For announcements and detailed prospectuses of the several courses of this 
series, address your denominational publishing house. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 255 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What is our method of approach to the subject of lessons? 

What has our study of the pupil revealed concerning him? 

How can we best aid in the pupil's development? 

Why should we not be content with adapting a uniform lesson to the 
different grades? 

What is the advantage of graded lessons in periods of special religious oppor- 
tunity? In the sense of progression which they afford? 

State three other advantages of graded lessons. 

Why should lessons be presented to elementary pupils in story form? 

Describe the coiitent of proper lessons for Beginners. For Primary pupils. 

What is the best lesson material for Juniors? 

Wherein should Intermediate lessons chiefly differ? 

Outline a curriculum for the Senior Department. 

What is to be said of lesson courses for adults? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. Meeting the Need of the Pupil. 

E.W.H.W. pp. 6gi., 149. 

2. Two Methods of Selecting Lessons. 

W.H.W. pp. 88, 89. 

3. Materials for Junior Lessons. 

J.W.H.W. pp. 90, 91- 
Lessons for Intermediates. 
I. W.H.W. Chap. V. 
II. In the Library 

1. Nurture by Food. 

The Natural Way, Du Bois, Chap. V. 

2. The Course of Study. 

Principles of Religious Education, Potter, Chap. V. 

3. Subjects of Special Importance in a Course of Study. 

The Pedagogical Bible School, Chaps. XI, XII. 



256 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

SECTION III— THE TEACHER 

CHAPTER XXXII 
THE TEACHER^S FIRST PUPIL 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

The teacher's first pupil is himself. "Thou that teachest another, 
teachest thou not thyself?" is an inquiry to which every teacher, 
and everyone ambitious to be a teacher, should give most earnest 
heed. 

I. THE SUPREMACY OF PERSONALITY 

Nothing else counts for so much in teaching as the personality 
of the teacher. A man weighs more than his words. Unless what 
he is speaks loud and clear, the words of his mouth will fall on 
deaf ears. The spirit of the teacher, his moral and religious ideals, 
the atmosphere which he carries, the disposition which he mani- 
fests — these add to or detract from his spoken words and continue 
to speak when he is silent. 

Personality is supreme in teaching because : 

(i) Religion Is Made Real In Persons. Religious truth shines 
clear when embodied in a person. The presentation of the Chris- 
tian life in ideas and words is likely to be vague; in a beautiful or 
heroic character it becomes concrete. We can teach the facts of 
history or geography from books, but religion is more than fact; 
it is truth, and truth to be taught needs the medium of personality. 

(2) Character Growth Is Stimulated By Personal Influence. 
Character grows and unfolds in the sunshine of a beautiful Chris- 
tian life as under no other influence. President King has said, "I 
would not decry teaching, but I would emphasize that no teaching 
of morals and noble ideals by precept is quite equal in effect and 
influence to the bringing of a surrendered personality into touch 
with a truly noble Christian soul." The thought has thus been 
expressed by another : "Character comes not by drill but by con- 
tagion." 

(3) Personal Influence Abides. Teachers are remembered for 
what they are more than for what they say. Words are readily 
forgotten, but the personal influence of a true teacher goes forth 
with the pupil to abide with him in ever-present power. Great 
teachers are certain to possess some skill of method by which their 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 257 

instruction will be made effective, bat it is their personality rather 
than their method which makes an abiding impression upon their 
pupils, ^Tt was the genuineness of Thomas Arnold, rather than 
his methods of instruction, that made such a profound impression 
upon the boys of Rugby, and sent them out to be the moral and 
political leaders of England. . . . Some one has said : 'It will 
be told in after-days how there was once a heaven-born head- 
master by the name of Thomas Arnold, who, ruling at Rugby, and 
allowing his boys to be merry and mischievous, yet taught them to 
be good Christians and true gentlemen.' " ^ The same writer says 
of Mary Lyon, of Mount Holyoke, that her ideals found expres- 
sion in such beautiful and consecrated Christian womanhood that 
her ideal became the ideal of their lives, and most of the girls of 
the seminary went out as Christian women to carry this spirit 
wherever they went. 

2. THE TEACHER TRAINING HIMSELF 

The teacher must train himself. He must take himself in hand 
in the school of daily life and make of himself the man he knows he 
ought to be. For we must remember that the ultimate determina- 
tion of any person's character, personality, and abilities is largely 
within himself. If his childhood has not been what might be 
desired, he cannot be held responsible for that; but he must hold 
himself responsible if he does not make his youth and his adulthood 
what it ought to be. He is "the captain of his soul," he is "the 
master of his fate." The first concern of the teacher, therefore, will 
he to attain completeness of Christian character, to develop and 
enrich his personality, to constantly grow in nobility and in strength 
— in power of mind, integrity of will, in beauty of spirit, in knowl- 
edge, in genuineness, and in all Christian graces. The man or 
woman who thus succeeds in the great task of being a Christian 
cannot fail in his task as Christ's teacher. That his contact with 
his pupils may be most helpful he will endeavor to cultivate certain 
personal qualities of special importance to the teacher : 

(i) He Will Cultivate Love. All the laws of teaching are 
summed up in this : Thou shalt love thy pupils. The first com- 
mand of the gospel is the first principle in effective teaching. Let 
a teacher have genuine love for his pupils, and no matter how he 
may be handicapped in other ways he will, like Pestalozzi, win in 
the end. Of course by love we mean genuine affection for children, 
not merely liking them so far as they show themselves likable. Dig 

^Seeley, A New School Management, p. 4. 



258 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

deep enough into his nature and you will find in every child that 
which is worthy of admiration and true regard. Love is at once 
blind and gifted with remarkable vision — it refuses to see fickleness 
and whimsicalness and moodiness and awkwardness, and underneath 
these or any other unlovely qualities which may be possessed it 
sees the child that is to be. Love may be cultivated through sym- 
pathy. Says Weimer, ''See in the child your own self in your 
youth and you will learn to love the child." 

(2) He Will Cultivate Good Humor. Gracious courtesy and 
kindliness, the outgrowth of good humor and cheerfulness, will go 
far toward winning the hearts of pupils. A smile, a cordial word 
of greeting, a spontaneous handshake, if they bear the stamp of 
genuineness, have an almost irresistible appeal. The teacher needs 
the gift of seeing the funny side of things ; a laugh will often save 
a desperate situation. He must be cheerful and happy; he must 
know how to play as well as to pray; he must be able to enjoy 
recreation as well as to be deeply serious on occasion. 

(3) He Will Cultivate Poise. Self-command is essential. There 
will be many things to try the teacher, and vex his spirit, but he 
must not allow himself to be irritated by them. He must learn how 
to remain calm and unruffled in the presence of distractions and 
petty disturbances. If he becom.es nervous or excited, if he speaks 
in a high key or a harsh voice, his unquiet spirit is certain to be 
communicated to the class. The practice of self-control even in 
such simple ways as controlling the hands and feet, the tones and 
modulation of the voice, will help in attaining a composure and 
poise which will be serviceable at all times and a saving grace in 
times of crisis. 

(4) He Will Cultivate Conviction and Enthusiasm. It is the 
teacher's task to inculcate belief and conviction. He must himself 
believe, and believe intensely. He must be positive. Earnestness 
will give carrying power to the truth he teaches. Only enthusiasm 
can kindle enthusiasm. 

(5) He Will Cultivate Generosity of Spirit. He will put the 
best construction on every act of his pupils. He will be more ready 
to praise than to blame. He will be fearless and just, but never 
harsh and critical. He will have deference for the opinions of 
others. He will be broad-minded and tolerant ; never narrow and 
bigoted, yet ever loyal to the truth as he sees it and ready to stand 
for it at any cost. He will never complain of his own pains and 
ills, but will ever have a ready word of sympathy for the distresses 
and sorrows of others. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 259 

In these ways, and in other ways peculiar to his own personality, 
ever in increasing measure as grace is given to him, he will show 
forth in and through himself the beauty of the religion of Jesus 
Christ. 

3. THE TEACHER'S ATTITUDE TOWARD HIS WORK 

The teacher will bear in mind that the quality of his work will 
depend very much upon his attitude toward it, and will see to it 
that he maintains ever the right attitude. If he rejoices in his 
opportunity, gives himself unreservedly, eagerly, and gladly to 
his task; if he counts his difficulties and his sacrifices nothing for 
the sake of the joy of service that is his, this will make up for 
many deficiencies. A teacher who gives himself grudgingly, talks 
about what sacrifices he is obliged to make in order to teach the 
class, or complains of how difficult the work is made by the lack 
of interest of the pupils, might as well resign. When one is 
tempted to be discouraged or is baffled by the demands made upon 
him by the work or by its difficulties, it will help him to consider 
the wonder of it, for his is truly a wonderful calling. Let him medi- 
tate upon the fact that he is God's teacher, a co-laborer with Jesus 
Christ ! Let him consider that it is his privilege to aid God in the 
growth of a soul ! The wonder of every teacher's work is well 
stated by Taylor in the introduction to his book, The Study of the 
Child : "We are dealing with the mind, not with physical forces. 
The most sensitive instrument ever invented by man does not com- 
pare with it in delicacy. . . . (We confront) the mystery of con- 
scious life. No other phenomenon in the universe approaches it in 
sublimity, no other so fascinates us by its delicate subtleness. The 
force of gravitation that holds the stars in their courses, the fer- 
vent heat that melts down mountains and tosses them into the sky, 
the bolt of lightning that shivers the towering monarchs of the 
forest, powerful though they be, know not themselves nor direct 
a single one of their activities. That strange and wonderful attri- 
bute, conscious life, is reserved for the child, the man." 

4. THE TEACHER'S PREPARATION OF THE LESSON 

Recognizing the primary importance of the cultivation of per- 
sonality, yet the teacher will not neglect specific preparation for 
every lesson. 

(i) The Spiritual Preparation. No amount of study of a Sun- 
day school lesson will fully prepare a teacher to teach it. Religious 
teaching is of the heart as well as of the head. The teacher is 



260 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

not merely to give information ; it is his part to bring the pupil 
face to face with God. How shall he do it unless he is himself in 
communion with the Eternal? He needs to pray over his lesson 
as well as pore over it. He needs to make sure that his spirit is 
attuned with the truth he is to impart. 

(2) Mastery of the Truth. The teacher is not to teach merely 
something; he is to teach the lesson. He is not to teach his own 
opinions, but the truth of the lesson. Loyalty to his calling requires 
him to become master of the lesson truth, to understand it fully, to 
comprehend it in all its bearings. This may be no slight task, but, 
however great, the teacher will address himself resolutely to it. 
He must make the trutJi his own. In doing this he will avail him- 
self of some of the best lesson helps obtainable, both books and 
periodicals. But he will not be content simply to repeat before the 
class the words of others. Through study and meditation he will 
possess himself of the truth so that his presentation will seem to 
be a part of himself, not the handing over of ready-made declara- 
tions and comments of .others. 

(3) Suggestions on Method. Preparation should be begun 
early in the week. Read the lesson at least as early as Tuesday. 
Try to give some time to it each day. Let the truth have a chance 
to grow in your mind. Every day's experiences will bring their 
contributions to its teaching. An illustration direct from your 
own experience will be much more effective than one taken over 
second-hand from some lesson help. Get all the light you can from 
others, but trust your own inspirations as well. Search diligently 
without for assistance, but learn to expect also the inner illumina- 
tion. Continue your preparation until your plan for the hour is 
complete, until you know how you are to begin, how you are to go 
on, how you are to close. When you are thus prepared you can go 
before your class with that perfect assurance, well founded, which 
will secure for you the respect and attention of your class. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Recall yonr own experience: What as a Sunday 
school pupil influenced you most? 

2. Talk with one of the best teachers you know. Secure 
full details on his methods of lesson preparation. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 261 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"O'er merry childhood would'st thou hold firm rule. 
And sun thee in the light of happy faces? 
Love, hope, and patience — these must be thy graces, 
And in thine own heart let them first keep school." 

1. Personality is supreme In teaching because: a. Re- 
ligion is made real in persons ; b. Character growth is 
stimulated by personal influence ; c. Personal influence 
abides. 

2. Personal qualities of special importance to the teacher : 
a. Love ; b. Good humor ; c. Poise ; d. Conviction and en- 
thusiasm ; e. Generosity of spirit. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What is the supreme element in teaching? 

How is religion made real? Explain your answer. 

How does character grow ? 

Why is personal influence more important than method? 

To what end is the teacher to train himself? 

Estimate the importance of love in teaching. 

Tell why good humor is important in a teacher. 

Why is poise desirable? 

What is the service of conviction and enthusiasm in teaching? Of gener- 
osity of spirit? 

Describe the proper attitude of the teacher toward his work. 

Why is spiritual preparation for teaching necessary? 

Give the important suggestions on mastery of the truth. On method of 
lesson preparation. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In The Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Teacher's First Pupil. 

S.W.H.W. Chap. IV. 

2. The Teacher as a Friend. 

I.W.H.W. Chap. XX. 

3. The Teacher Come from God. 

A.W.H.W. Chap. XIII. 
II. In the Library 

1. The Personality of the Teacher. 

I A New School Management, Seeley, Chap. I. 

2. The Teacher's Personal Equipment. 

The Making of a Teacher, Brumbaugh, Chap. XVII. 



262 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XXXIII 
METHODS OF TEACHING 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

The teacher should be in his place 'at least ten minutes before 
the hour of the session, that he may prepare the classroom or place 
for the class, greet the members of the class as they arrive, dis- 
cover any special interest of the pupils for that day, and be in 
control of the situation without giving mischief an opportunity to 
gain the upper hand. Attention should be given to preparatory 
details. The chairs should be carefully arranged in the position 
most advantageous for teaching. Hats and wraps should be prop- 
erly disposed of. Bibles and hymn books for the use of the class 
members should be in place. The teacher's textbook or other 
printed help may well be put away, not to appear during the 
session. Let the teacher accustom himself after thorough prepara- 
tion to depend upon his mental resources. Whatever appliances 
are to be used in connection with the lesson — whether maps, 
pictures, blackboard, or note books — should be ready at hand, that 
there may be no delay in finding and bringing them. 

There is no one best method for the presentation of the lesson. 
The method to be used will depend upon the grade of the pupils, 
the character of the lesson material, and upon the training and 
habit of the teacher. We shall treat of the different principal 
methods. 

r I. THE STORYJ 

(i) The Importance of the Story. Says G. Stanley Hall, "Of 
all the things that a teacher should know how to do the most 
important, without exception, is to be able to tell a story." "We 
now recognize in story-telling," says Professor St. John, "the 
earliest, the simplest, and so far as moral influence is concerned, 
the most universally effective means of impressing upon a new 
generation the lessons that have been learned by those who have 
gone before." To the child the story is the most fascinating form 
of truth. For we must recognize that truth is by no means con- 
fined to facts, as many people seem to think, but may be very 
effectively embodied in story form. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 263 

(2) The Art of Story-Telling. Story-telling is an art in itself, 
and the teacher can well afford to make a special study of it. We 
can give here only a few brief hints for general guidance, 

a. The Purpose of the Story. Why is this particular story to 
be told? What do you desire to teach by it? Does the story 
clearly teach this? These are questions which the teacher must 
answer before he undertakes to use the story in his teaching. 

b. Appreciation ®f the Story. It is not enough to know the 
story. It must be felt. The truth must first have entered into 
the teacher's mind and heart; only then is he prepared to make the 
story an effective vehicle for its conveyance to the pupil. 

c. Knowing the Story. The story's make up must be thoroughly 
familiar. This does not mean that it should be memorized. Mem- 
orization surely detracts from spontaneity. Rather, we mean a 
familiar grasp of all its details, so that no least particular, impor- 
tant to it, shall be omitted in the telling. 

d. Analysis. See how it is made up. Break it up into its com- 
ponent parts. Know not only what happened, but realize the suc- 
cessive steps in the narrative of what happened. Determine on the 
climax of the story, and make that the climax of your telling. 

c. When You Tell It. Be yourself. Speak naturally. Avoid 
affectation — "a cant voice is abominable." If you pose, you attract 
attention to yourself rather than to the story. Be direct. Use 
direct quotation. Without interjecting comments or explanations of 
your own come to the point. Be earnest. This does not necessarily 
mean, Wear a sober face. It means. Give yourself to the story. 
Live it and make your pupils feel it. Forget your own existence. 
To visualize the whole will help you to do this. Make yourself see 
it, then show what you see to your pupils. 

f. Practice. There is only one way to learn how to tell stories, 
and that is to practice. You never need want for an audience. 
Wherever two or three children are gathered together; there you 
have it. "If one have neither natural adaptation, nor experience, 
still I say. Tell the stories; tell the stories; a thousand times, tell 
the stories !" 

(3) Stories as Sunday School Lessons. In the Beginners' and 
the Primary Departments the lesson should be almost always in 
story form. A story lesson is attractive to Juniors and oftentimes 
will prove to be the best way of presenting the lesson to them. 
For occasional use, it is very effective with young people and even 
with adults, 



264 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

2. THE RECITATION METHOD 

The Recitation Method presupposes the assignment of definite 
tasks to the pupils and the study of these during the week. In the 
lesson period the pupils recite on their assignments. The teacher 
develops the pupil's statement by questions, correcting one answer 
by another, and when necessary supplementing inadequate answers 
by statements of his own. 

(i) Advantages of the Recitation Method. At its best good 
things may be said for this method. With attention given to 
assignments, ample lesson helps of the right sort, and a willingness 
to study on the part of the pupils, good results may be had. The 
expression of the lesson truths by the pupils in their own words 
is very valuable. 

(2) Shortcomings of the Method. In common practice the 
Recitation Method is subject to much abuse. The teacher often 
fails entirely to make assignments, the pupils do not study the 
lesson, and the recitation, as a result, is superficial and comparatively 
profitless. 

(3) Making the Most of the Method. The teacher who really 
desires to do good work will give earnest heed to these particulars : 

a. Lesson Assignment. The lesson will be studied a week in 
advance by the teacher, in order that its assignment may be skill- 
fully made. The interests of the pupils will be in mind and points 
of contact determined upon. The teacher will endeavor by means 
of these to awaken an interest in the lesson and thus to stimulate 
study. Definite tasks will be assigned to each pupil, so that each will 
feel that there is something for which he alone is held responsible. 
Failure in our Sunday school work often roots right here. Teach- 
ers so frequently content themselves with a general statement as, 
"Now, be sure to study next Sunday's lesson," or "See who can 
have the best lesson next week," and the pupils are left entirely in 
the dark as to what is expected of them. By definite assignments 
carefully made it ought to be possible to establish a live-wire con- 
nection between every lesson and every pupil in the class. 

b. The Recitation. If the work of preparation has been well 
done on the preceding Sunday, no time need be lost ; the teacher 
can proceed at once to the heart of the lesson. Accept the pupil's 
report on an assignment at its full value, but do not be content with 
a mere statement of fact. Develop the statement. Make sure the 
pupil understands its significance ; bring out all its bearings ; secure 
a restatement in other words ; illustrate it fully and strikingly. But 
do not dwell too long on any one point. Plan so well for the very 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 265 

limited time that every one will be given a chance. Do not fail 
to call for a report on everything assigned. If a pupil who has 
studied faithfully is not called upon, it will not be easy to interest 
him in the next lesson. A very common mistake, and one which 
involves serious injustice, is that of calling only on the brightest 
pupils in the class and thus failing in getting any expression from 
perhaps one half or two thirds of the class members, 

3. THE CONVERSATION METHOD 

In this method of teaching the pupil is met on his own plane, 
and from his statement, called forth by a question or made as a 
comment, the teacher gradually develops the truth which he desires 
to teach. His effort is to educe, or draw out, a statement of the 
truth from the pupil. 

(i) Advantages of the Conversation Method. A skilled ques- 
tioner can teach with great success by this method. Here is con- 
stant movement; interest and attention are assured; creative ex- 
pression on the part of the members of the class is required. The 
teacher will not stop short of getting a statement which shows 
that the pupil has a grasp of the truth and is able to formulate it 
intelligently. The truth thus becomes the pupil's own, and condi- 
tions are most favorable for his retaining it. The teacher discovers 
the mind of the pupil, his methods of thinking — even the inner 
thoughts of his heart are revealed. It thus becomes possible for 
him not only to impart information but to make sure that the truth 
lays hold of the inner man, molds purposes and rectifies and 
strengthens motives. The use of the conversation method made 
Socrates one of the most famous of the world's teachers. It is to 
be noted also that Jesus was exceedingly skillful in conversational 
teaching. Every teacher should study the Master's use of questions. 

(2) Disadvantages of the Method. It is by no means easy for 
the teacher to qualify himself for the use of this method. It requires 
a broad general knowledge, the ability to think quickly and accu- 
rately, skillfulness and discrimination in the use of words, and self- 
mastery. Practice will do much in assisting the teacher to become 
skillful. In itself, the method lays no requirement of study in 
advance of the lesson period upon the pupils, hence lesson prepara- 
tion is likely to be slighted. There is constant danger of contro- 
versy over unimportant matters. Unless care and skill are used the 
discussion is likely to wander, to follow tangents far afield, and 
even to degenerate into superficial, pointless, and profitless talk. 
For the teacher merely to read off the printed questions of the 



266 FIRST STANDARD ^lANUAL 

lesson help and to accept answers read by the pupils from their 
lesson papers is not teaching, and cannot be classed under this or 
any other real teaching method. 

(3) Adaptation of the Method. If the most be made of the 
Recitation Method there will be free and thorough discussion ; that 
is, the Conversation ]\Iethod will also be used. In many cases 
the best method to be used is a combination of these two methods. 
Lesson study is secured by the means suggested above, the result is 
called out by questions, and the pupil's statement is made the basis 
of a conversational discussion. When success is attained there is 
full cooperation between pupils and teacher in which all the neces- 
sary conditions for real teaching are finely met. 

4. THE TOPICAL METHOD 

By the Topical Method we mean that method of teaching 
used to a considerable extent in advanced college graduate classes, 
under the designation of Seminar Method. The teacher assigns 
from time to time important topics, to be made the subject of thor- 
ough investigation, and then reported upon by a paper or a lecture. 
At its best this is a most excellent method of teaching, but it is 
evident that it can have only limited use in the Sunday school. It 
requires a teacher of exceptional training and Senior or adult 
students of good education and unusually earnest purpose in study. 
Given these, it may be made the means of making true Bible scholars. 

5. THE LECTURE METHOD 

In the use of the lecture method the teacher gives an address 
to the class, which may or may not be accompanied by some asking 
and answering of questions and some discussion. It is the one 
method used in many large classes of adults. 

(i) Advantages of the Lecture Method. It cannot be doubted 
that not a few adults prefer to attend a class where they will not 
be called upon to answer questions, or even express an opinion. It 
permits a large membership ; a large number of people may thus 
be under the instruction of an able teacher where good teachers 
for several classes could not be found. A lecture course may be 
given in which a number of specialists may be heard upon subjects 
upon which they are especially qualified to speak. If a lecture 
class have a distinguished teacher, there is an opportunity to secure 
a large attendance through advertising. 

(2) Disadvantages. The Lecture Method has distinct disad- 
vantages. No requirement of lesson study is made of the members. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 267 

They learn little as compared to what they might learn if they dili- 
gently pursued a study course. There is a strong temptation upon 
the teacher to make his addresses popular, even entertaining, to the 
extent of minimizing instruction. A large lecture class is a second 
congregation and may detract from the interest in the public 
preaching service and lessen the attendance upon it. 

(3) Use of the Lecture Method. While it is far from being 
ideal, there is undoubtedly a place for this method of teaching. An 
able Bible teacher, who is at the same time a resourceful and draw- 
ing speaker, may attract to the Sunday school large numbers of 
adults, especially men, who could not be brought in by any other 
means. Every large Sunday school might well have at least one 
lecture class. In other classes occasional lectures might well be 
given, or lecture courses on special subjects offered at intervals. 

6. GENERAL SUGGESTIONS ON METHOD 

(i) Vary Your Method. The successful teacher avoids ruts. 
He is not tied to any one method of presentation. If the discus- 
sion method works well, he uses that ; but if discussion tends to fall 
into routine, or if interest in it wanes, he casts the lesson into story 
form, or delivers the best lecture of which he is capable. He uses 
the method best adapted to the lesson he teaches. He studies his 
class members, as well as his lesson, and is governed by their 
interests and needs. No one method of teaching has all the good 
qualities ; each may sometimes be modified to advantage. Whatever 
method be used, avoid monotony. Variety, variety, variety is the 
secret of interest. 

(2) Look Well to the Spirit of the Classroom. It must be 
cordial and open. A pupil must feel entirely free to ask a question 
at any time or to disagree with an opinion of the teacher. Urge 
the members of the class to express their own opinions. Often 
the insuperable barrier to the acceptance of the truth is a false 
opinion, the weakness of which would become apparent if it were 
given expression. You cannot compel pupils to accept your teach- 
ing. It becomes theirs only as they reach out after it, seeking to 
appropriate it and make it their own, A cordial, friendly atmos- 
phere is a first necessity no matter what method is used. 

(3) Connect the Lesson with Life. Make your presentation 
concrete. Translate abstract statements of truth into terms of life. 
Seek illustrations from the experiences of the members of your 
class. No matter what method of teaching you may find it best 
to use, do not conclude the lesson hour without making some vital 



268 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

connection between the truth and character. Remember that no 
lesson is well taught unless every member of the class sees and feels 
that it bears some relation to his life and conduct. Let no pupil 
of yours ever have occasion to say, "That is true, but what of it?" 
Rather let every one be led to say, "That is true, and it affects me." 

IL CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Observe the teaching of a particular lesson by some 
good teacher. Describe the method of presentation used. 

2. Considering further this same lesson : Was the 
method used adapted to the grade of the pupils? Was it 
adapted to the lesson material? What method would you 
use in teaching the lesson? 

3. With a particular class in mind tell what method you 
would use in teaching next Sunday's lesson. 

IIL MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

I. Methods of presentation: a. The Story; b. The Reci- 
tation Method ; c. The Conversation Method ; d. The Top- 
ical Method ; e. The Lecture Method. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What are some of the teacher's duties before the session begins? 

How shall the method of presentation of a particular lesson be determined? 

Estimate the importance of the story in teaching. 

Give important hints on telling the story. 

Describe the Recitation Method. What can you say of its use? 

What is the Conversation Method? Give important suggestions on its use. 

Under what circumstances may the Topical Method be used to advantage ? 

State some advantages and some disadvantages of the Lecture Method. 

Give in detail some general suggestions on Method. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In The Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Lesson Story for Elementary Grades. 

E.W.H.W. pp. 161, 162. 

2. The Story and Its Uses. 

I.W.H.W. Chap. VL 
II. In the Library 

1. Learning to Tell a Story. 

Stories and Story Telling, St. John, Chap. VI, VII. 

2. The Recitation Lesson. 

A Brief Course in The Teaching Process, Strayer, Chap. X. 

3. The Socratic Method. 

Primer on Teaching, Adams, Chap. VII. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 269 



CHAPTER XXXIV 
THE LESSON PLAN 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

Eveiy lesson requires special study. The best of teachers never 
get beyond the need for preparation, even on the most familiar 
lesson. But to know the lesson is not enough. It is necessary to 
have a definite aim in teaching the lesson, and an equally definite 
plan of realising that aim. The ultimate aim in the teaching of 
all Sunday school lessons is the same — the religious development of 
the pupil. This will always be in mind, but in addition the teacher 
must ask, *Tn what definite way does this lesson contribute to that 
end?" In deciding upon the lesson aim the pupils must be kept 
in mind. The teacher dare not shut himself up in a room apart 
to study the lesson as an end in itself. As he studies he must see 
his pupils before him and decide upon the lesson aim in the light 
of their needs. This will make it impossible for him to take over 
without alteration a ready made lesson plan found in some teach- 
er's help. These helps will be at the best only suggestive in aiding 
him to work out his own lesson plan. 

For many lessons, the best lesson plan will be constructed accord- 
ing to the principles first enunciated by Herbart, a famous German 
educator; these are commonly known as Herbart's Formal Process, 
or The Five Steps. 

I. THE FIVE STEPS 

They are as follows: 

(i) Preparation. This first step is the means by which we lay 
hold of the pupil's mind and get it into action. It rests upon the 
fundamental principle that teaching is a process of cooperation 
between teacher and pupil, and its purpose is to arouse the pupil's 
mental processes. The teacher must hit upon something with 
which the pupil is familiar and in which he has an interest. Taking 
this as the starting point, by questions, suggestions, an anecdote, or 
some similar means, he so awakens the pupil's interest in the lesson 
message that he is eager to receive it. 

a. The Point of Contact. It is obvious that this starting point 
must be something which may be connected with the lesson truth. 



270 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

It is thus the point of contact between previously possessed knowl- 
edge and the new truth. Its importance is realized when we 
remember that the unknown can be understood and interpreted only 
in terms of the known. 

b. On Finding Points of Contact. When a teacher is well ac- 
quainted with the members of his class it is not difficult to find 
points of contact. Some recent public event — a striking experience 
of some member of the class, an experience of some historical per- 
sonage or of somie familiar character of fiction, an oft-expressed 
wish, an interesting object in nature — will furnish the desired 
means of connection. Sometimes the best possible point of con- 
tact is a previous lesson in which real interest was shown. 

c. The Preliminary Nature of the First Step. This first step 
is preliminary to the teaching of the lesson and should not be 
allowed to take up too much time. Sometimes teachers dwell too 
long upon it. When a teacher assigns topics in advance for read- 
ing or written work, this is a part of preparation and may in itself 
be sufficient. 

(2) Presentation. The second step, presentation, will occupy 
the larger part of the lesson period. It has been described as 
bringing in the fresh thought or knowledge to lay by the side of 
that which is already possessed. The preceding chapter on methods 
of teaching and the chapter on questions directly concern this step 
of presentation. 

a. Method of Presentation. The grade of the class, its size, 
if a secondary division or adult class, and the character of the 
lesson material will largely determine the method of presentation. 
Except in the elementary grades, where the story metJiod will 
always have right of way, there should be variety in method of pre- 
sentation. The teacher should not allow his pupils to feel that they 
know to a certainty just how he will proceed in teaching the lesson. 

b. One Central Truth. The presentation should be concerned 
principally with one central truth. The aim should not be to 
present the largest possible number of new ideas. It is very much 
better to choose some one outstanding truth and dwell upon it to 
make sure that it is clearly and forcibly presented. The prevailing 
habit in Sunday school teaching of considering a lesson verse by 
verse, assuming that every verse must perforce contain some valu- 
able nugget of hidden truth and demanding that it give it up, is 
a very bad one. It does violence to fundamental principles of 
biblical interpretation. Besides it is a mistake to try to teach so 
much that our pupils learn nothing well. One may feel that he is 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 271 

losing an opportunity in passing by some of the truths contained 
in a lesson ; as a matter of fact, we lose our one great opportunity 
of teaching something if we do not concentrate. An entire lesson 
period is not sufficient in which to teach a preeminent truth. If the 
instruction is really to tell in life-building the truth must be reit- 
erated, presented in all its phases, emphasized in various ways — • 
by every means made the familiar possession of the pupil. 

(3) Association and Comparison. In this step the purpose is 
to make clear what has been presented by associating and compar- 
ing it with what the pupil already knows. This step is fundamental 
and important, for the mind always acts by association ; the known 
is always used to interpret, explain, and classify the unknown. We 
invariably describe a strange object by telling what it is like. It is 
at this point that illustrations are chiefly useful. A succeeding 
chapter is devoted to this subject. Illustrations to be effective must 
deal with familiar material. To bring good illustrations the teacher 
must be intimately acquainted with the pupils. The wise teacher 
continually studies her class. "She watches them in their play; she 
finds out their little interests and enthusiasms, she gets as much as 
she can out of their home environment, and she uses all of this 
material for illustration of her teaching. . . . The illustration that 
illuminates is taken right out of the life of the person who is being 
taught." 

(4) Generalization. The fourth step in the teaching process 
involves getting back from the pupils an expression in their own 
words of the central truth or truths of the lesson. The teacher 
should patiently endeavor to evoke this statement from the pupils ; 
it is much more significant if it is formulated in their own way. 
Generalization is not always required. "Sometimes, especially with 
young children, it seems advisable not to teach the rule at all, rely- 
ing upon the concrete facts — whatever their nature — to suggest it 
of themselves."^ Generalization is chiefly necessary in an inductive 
lesson — that is, one in which there are a number of particular in- 
stances from which a general truth may be inferred. Of course not 
all Sunday school lessons are inductive. A lesson may consist 
entirely of a simple story enforcing a single truth. Another lesson 
may be a single experience from the life of a hero. Still other 
kinds of lessons may not yield a generalization. 

(5) Application. This step reaches out beyond the Sunday 
school room into the daily life of the pupil. It is to be borne in 



^McMurry, The Method of the Recitation, p. 204. 



272 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

mind that only that is really taught which actually affects and 
influences conduct. The act in turn deepens and intensifies the 
thought. As Professor James says, "An impression which simply 
flows in at the pupil's eyes or ears and in no way modifies his 
active life, is an impression gone to waste. ... Its motor conse- 
quences are what clinch it." If our teaching stops short of applica- 
tion in every-day life, we fail in our ultimate purpose of making 
Christian character. In spite of this fact we fear many Sunday 
school teachers have contented themselves with cramming facts 
into their pupils' minds or with inculcating theories and doctrines 
widely separated from life as beliefs to be held as a sort of religious 
insurance. We are to include right beliefs in our teaching, but we 
must insist that doctrines, as all instruction, shall influence boys 
and girls to right conduct on the street, on the playground, in the 
school, and in the home. Our supreme task is to show them how 
they can be Christian boys and girls, and to gain the decisions of 
their wills to go forth and live as they have been taught. The 
application must not be forced. It must come as a free choice. 
Often the teacher will not tell the pupil directly what he ought to 
do. He will make sure that the pupil understands wherein and 
how the lesson applies to conduct by asking for examples. He will 
show the form of conduct to be morally attractive and thus stimu- 
late feeling. Finally, he will leave the pupil in no doubt of what 
he expects from him. On later occasions he will recur to the lesson 
to make sure that the application has actually been made. 

Often the lesson truth may be made vivid and the application 
aided by some form of expressive activity. This will be treated 
at length in a later chapter. 

The five steps in the formal process of teaching ought to become 
very familiar to every teacher. It is not to be understood that 
every lesson will rigidly follow this plan. That would make of it a 
mechanical process without life or power. In actual practice it 
will be subject to constant modification. Yet in the broadest sense 
it is true that in every lesson the teacher should plan to prepare the 
pupil's mind for the truth, present it clearly and vividly, make it 
familiar by associating it, formulate it in a general statement, and 
apply it. 

2. GENERAL SUGGESTIONS ON LESSON PLANS 

(i) Plans Should be Adaptable. There are wide differences in 
lessons. Plans should be varied to suit the character of the lessons. 
They should be adapted to the grades, that is, to the pupils. Some- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 273 

times a plan will need to be radically changed in the course of the 
lesson hour because of special circumstances. One subject may- 
require several lesson periods for treatment; one entire period may- 
be given to one step. 

(2) A Good Plan Will Promote Economy of Time. The time 
devoted to our Sunday school work is all too brief. Every moment 
must be made to count. There is no time for fumbling. A well- 
made plan will utilize every moment. It will find a best way to 
begin, which is very important, for the first five minutes go far 
toward deciding the character of the whole hour. It will provide a 
best way to go on, which is important, for wandering or uncertain 
progress dissipates interest and attention. It will decide upon a 
best way to close, which is important because the final and abiding 
impression is largely determined by the last moments. The lesson 
to be most effective must be cumulative. For a teacher to break 
down at any of these important points, or to say, "1 got only half 
through the lesson," is to confess a failure, one cause of which lay 
in a defective lesson plan. 

II, CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Observe the teaching of some lesson in day school or 
Sunday school. Write answers to these questions : Did 
the teacher appear to have a well worked out plan? 
Wherein did it work well? Wherein could it have been 
improved ? 

2. Select a particular lesson and with a particular class 
in mind construct a complete lesson plan. 

3. Read the parable of the sower (Matt. 13. 3-9). Select 
a point of contact : a. For an adult men's class ; b. For a 
class of city boys who have never been in the country; c. 
For a class of Junior girls who live in the country. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. The Five Steps: a. Preparation; b. Presentation; 
c. Association and Comparison ; d. Generalization ; e. Ap- 
plication. 

2. Preparation involves finding a point of contact and 
using it to awaken an interest in what is to be taught. 

3. Presentation offers the lesson truth or truths. 

4. Association fastens the truth in the mind, and com- 
parison tells what it is like. 



274 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

5. Generalization formulates the truth in the pupils' own 
words. 

6. Application utilizes the truth in conduct. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What is required of a teacher beyond knowing the lesson? 
Distinguish between the ultimate aim in Sunday school teaching and the 
immediate aim in teaching a particular lesson. 
Explain what is meant by IVeparation. 

What is point of contact? Where shall we go for points of contact? 
What is involved in Presentation? 
What are the principal methods of Presentation ? 
What is the importance of one central truth? 
What is the office of Association and Comparison? 
What is meant by Generalization? Why is it not always required? 
Why is application so important? 

Should every lesson plan adhere rigidly to "The Five Steps"? 
In what ways must plans be adaptable? 
Tell some ways in which a good plan will help in teaching. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In The Worker and His Work Series. 

1. The Lesson Presented to Beginners. 

E.W.H.W. pp. 73f. 

2. Preparation and Presentation in Teaching Primary Pupils. 

E.W.H.W. Chap. XVII. 

3. Lesson Analysis. 

S.W.H.W. Chap. VII. 
II. In the Library 

1. Method in Teaching. 

Primer on Teaching, Adams, Chap. VI, 

2. The Point of Contact. 

The Point of Contact in Teaching, Du Bois, Chap. I. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 275 



CHAPTER XXXV 
INTEREST AND ATTENTION 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

Among many significant statements of Henry Clay Trumbull, to 
whom the whole Sunday school world is greatly indebted, is this : 
"There are a good many things which you would like to have in a 
scholar which, after all, you can get along without ; but attention 
is not one of these. . . . While a scholar lacks attention teaching 
him is an impossibility." Attention is the teacher's problem. A 
teacher may sometimes be heard to say : "Children, you must give 
attention." Instead, the teacher should say, "/ must teach so that 
my pupils will freely attend to my teaching." These two facts the 
teacher should have ever before him : There is no use attempting 
to teach without attention. It is only a waste of breath. Though 
the pupil's body may be before you, his mind is somewhere else. 
Secondly, if you are able to teach as you ought, you will have the 
attention of your class. 

I. WHAT ATTENTION IS 

(i) Attention Defined. In our study of the mind we have found 
that consciousness is never at a standstill (p. i63f). At any partic- 
ular moment, however, some one thing or group of things, some 
perception or thought, is at the center of the field of consciousness. 
In a flash it may have been displaced and something else may have 
taken its place, but in the present moment the mind's activity is 
centered upon it. That which is at the center of the Held of con- 
sciousness within the mind at any particular moment is the abject 
of attention. 

(2) Kinds of Attention. Attention may be said to be of two 
kinds. 

a. Spontaneous or Involuntary Attention. Spontaneous atten- 
tion is attention without effort. It is the kind of attention which 
it takes effort to refuse. In infancy it is based wholly upon instinct. 
Later, as interests develop, attention is regulated by interest. What- 
ever interests the pupil is the object of spontaneous attention. The 
value of spontaneous attention consists in the fact that when it is 
given, the mind is eager and alert, reaching out toward its object. 



276 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

In this connection it is of highest significance for our work that 
the child has natural religious interests. 

b. Voluntary Attention. Voluntary attention is attention with 
effort. That it may be given an effort of will is required. It is the 
mind's concentration upon that which is not of itself interesting or 
attractive. It lacks the life and vitality which characterizes spon- 
taneous attention and is likely to be mechanical and powerless. 
Two things concerning voluntary attention should be noted : the 
power thus to attend is acquired — young children do not have it ; 
and, secondly, while it is exceedingly valuable and may be acquired 
by any one with diligent effort, many people never come to possess 
the power of voluntary attention in any considerable degree. 

When we consider the relative importance of these two kinds of 
attention it becomes clear that the teacher's dependence must be 
principally upon spontaneous attention. To be able to appeal to it is 
to insure ready response and to insure also that teaching will pro- 
ceed more smoothly, more pleasantly, and much more effectively. 
Formerly voluntary attention was more valued because it was be- 
lieved that the effort of will involved was very important. We 
know now, however, that the power of will required in voluntary 
attention is not possessed by little children. It is therefore neces- 
sary, particularly in the elementary grades, to rely principally upon 
interest. 

2. WHAT INTEREST IS 

(i) Interest Defined. By interest we mean those feelings of 
pleasure or pain which arouse activity in the mind. Interest is 
thus a feeling which has the characteristic of activity. Says Hub- 
bell : ''Interest implies that we take hold on something ; that we are 
busy with it. It does not end in itself, but it reaches out and attaches 
itself to something beyond. It implies also a feeling of worth and 
finds ready response in one's deepest nature." There may be said 
to be two kinds of interest : 

a. Natural Interest. Natural interest is the spontaneous reac- 
tion of the child to certain things, due to his instincts. The child 
has an instinct to satisfy hunger. He has a natural interest in his 
milk bottle because he associates it with the satisfaction of his 
hunger. Children have a wide range of natural interests, some 
purely intellectual. Curiosity is an instinct ; the boy's curiosity 
leads to his interest in seeing how things are made, his constructive 
Interest. 

b. Acquired Interest. Acquired interest is that which is caused 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 277 

to grow out of natural interests. Music, painting, sculpture — the 
higher arts — represent with many people acquired interests. 

(2) The Importance of Interest. It is readily apparent that 
interest is of prime importance in teaching, for it is the basis of 
attention. Inattention is explained by lack of interest. If the 
interests of the pupil are appealed to, spontaneous attention will be 
given. Teachers are sometimes exhorted to make the subject inter- 
esting. A more fundamental thing is to choose such material as 
appeals to the pupil's interests. If lessons are properly chosen, they 
will have little need to be made interesting; they will have an 
inherent interest. 

3. SOME IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES 

(i) Attention Comes in Waves. Or, as Professor James says, 
"in beats." It cannot be continuously sustained. The mind must 
be constantly reattracted. The teacher's problem therefore, is not 
merely to get attention at the beginning of the lesson, but to hold it. 
The utilization of interest through finding a poiiU of contact is the 
object of the first step in the lesson plan, as we have seen. It will 
probably be necessary to find new points of contact as the lesson 
proceeds in order to hold or to regain the attention. 

Variety and movement in the presentation of the subject-matter 
will be a decided help in retaining the attention. The lesson should 
move on from beginning to end, much as a story develops in the 
telling. There should also be variety in teaching method and in 
recitation. Routine should be shunned. 

(2) Association is Effective. In gaining attention to what is 
not immediately interesting effective use may be made of the prin- 
ciple of association. It may be thus stated: Attention may be gained 
by associating that which is not in itself interesting with that in 
which an interest already exists. The association may be in terms of 
time, of likeness, of similarity of circumstance, of common relation 
to a third object, or in any other of numerous ways which ingenuity 
may suggest. James gives, in effect, this statement : Begin with the 
line of the person's native interests and offer him objects that have 
some immediate connection with these. Next, step by step, connect 
with these first objects and experiences the later objects and ideas 
which you wish to instill. Associate the new with the old in some 
natural and telling way. The two associated objects grow, as it 
were, together ; the interesting portion sheds its quality over the 
whole; and thus things not interesting in their own right borrow 



278 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

an interest which becomes as real and as strong as that which was 
used as the starting point. 

(3) New Interests May Be Created. It wall readily be seen 
that continued use of the last named principle will result, not merely 
in gaining attention for the time being, but actually in the crea- 
tion of new interests. It is a part of the teacher's task to use natural 
interest as a means of creating new interests of deep and vital 
significance. Interest thus becomes not only a means but an end of 
the teaching process. An important aim in our work is to develop 
in the pupil a genuine interest in all the things of life which have 
real and abiding worth. We may be sure that the subject in which 
the pupil becomes thoroughly interested will not long remain unre- 
lated to his life. 

(4) Voluntary Attention May Be Developed. Our whole 
dependence should not be upon spontaneous attention. There will 
be times in our teaching when we shall be compelled to fall back 
upon voluntary attention. We should therefore endeavor to secure 
effort for voluntary attention. This effort is valuable mental dis- 
cipline. The most common dependence in securing it is upon desire 
for promotion, the approval of the teacher, prizes and rewards. A 
better way is to appeal to higher purposes and desires — a life pur- 
pose, a cherished plan of life effort, a lofty ideal, where these exist, 
attention being asked that they may ultimately be attained. As we 
pass from childhood to adolescence we must attach increasing im- 
portance to voluntary attention. Hughes says, "The beginnings of 
knowledge are in activity or in pleasure, but the culminating point 
is in the power of attending to things in themselves indifferent." 

(5) Attention Itself May Be Made Habitual. It should be 
borne in mind that our pupils are forming habits either of atten- 
tion or of inattention. If we assent to inattention in the members 
of our classes, we not only fail of teaching them anything, we beget 
in them an irreverence for the sacred things of which, as religious 
teachers, we treat, and instead of being helped they are both intel- 
lectually and morally weakened. 

4. PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS ON ATTENTION 
(i) The Removal of Obstacles. There are many obstacles to 
attention, some of which may be removed and others of which may 
be at least partly overcome. Some little things, very distracting 
but easily remedied, are such as a creaking door, a rattling window, 
noisy chairs, an unsightly article of furniture, the passing of papers 
during the lesson hour. Bad ventilation, poor light, or an over- 



OF TEACHER TkAINING ^79 

crowded classroom may make it well-nigh impossible for a teacher 
to hold the attention of a class. Sometimes the cause of inatten- 
tion is in the pupil himself. It may be a surplus of physical energy 
which could be given vent by assigning certain simple tasks such as 
marking the class book, going to the library for a book, or arrang- 
ing the class chairs. The very opposite of this condition, physical 
weakness, or even low mentality, may be the cause. The reason 
for inattention is sometimes in the teacher; some personal peculiar- 
ity or affectation may distract the mind of the pupil; a personal 
antagonism of teacher to pupil, real or fancied, serves as an effective 
barrier. A separate classroom, or a place partially separated, will 
remove various causes of distraction. 

(2) The Ineffectiveness of Commands. It is exceedingly com- 
mon for teachers to command, entreat, or exhort attention. For the 
most part this is entirely futile. It fixes attention upon the teacher 
or upon the penalties which he threatens instead of upon the lesson. 
What the teacher really desires is to turn attention to the truth 
he is attempting to teach, not to hiniself. Even attention given to 
the subject in response to entreaty is likely to be unstable and fleet- 
ing. There may be occasions when because of unusual distraction 
it is desirable to recall attention by some external means, but it 
should be understood that all such means are mere makeshifts. The 
more a teacher asks for attention the less skillful teacher he shows 
himself to be. 

(3) The Teacher's Attention. An inattentive teacher cannot 
expect to have an attentive class. The standard of any class is set 
and sustained by the teacher. A principal source of inattention in 
the class may often be traced to a lack of interest on the part of 
the teacher. Sometimes where there is no lack of interest in the 
lesson truth, there may be an inattentive attitude toward the Sunday 
school program, or a failure to check the first advances of inatten- 
tion on the part of the pupils. On the other hand, the teacher 
may well place dependence upon the contagion of interest. If his 
preparation of the lesson, his attitude toward his task of teaching, 
his earnestness in presentation, all show his interest in the subject, 
and his faith in the truth and in his pupils, this will go far toward 
winning and holding the interest and attention of the class. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

I. Observe the teaching in a class where the pupils are 
attentive. Write the reasons why, in your opinion, the 
teacher is able to hold the attention so well. 



28o FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

2. Make observation in an inattentive class. Write what 
you think to be the reasons for the inattention. 

3. Talk with the most inattentive or disorderly Sunday 
school pupil with whom you are on intimate terms and 
get a full explanation of the situation from his own stand- 
point. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Definition: Attention is active direction of the mind 
to any object or idea. 

2. Kinds of attention : a. Spontaneous, or Involuntary, 
attention; b. Voluntary attention. (Distinguish clearly be- 
tween the two.) 

3. Definition: Interest may be said to be those feelings 
of pleasure or pain which arouse activity in the mind. 

4. Kinds of Interest : a. Natural Interest ; b. Acquired 
Interest. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Of how great importance is the matter of attention? 

Define attention. 

Distinguish between the two kinds of attention. 

How is interest related to attention ? 

Give a definition of interest. Name two kinds of interest. 

Estimate the importance of interest. 

What is the significance of the fact that attention comes in waves? 

Explain the application of the principle of association. 

How may new interests be created? 

How may we develop voluntary attention? 

What is the permanent evil of inattention? 

What may be said of the removal of obstacles to attention? 

Why should a teacher not command pupils to give attention? 

Why is attention on the part of the teacher important? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY REAEING 

I. In The Worker and His Work Series 

The Necessity of Having Interest and Attention. 
I.W.H.W. pp. 6off. 
II. In the Library 

1. How to Secure Attention. 

The Psychological Principles of Education, Home, Chap. XXVIII. 

2. Interest. 

Talks to Teachers, James, Chap. X. 

3. Attention. 

Talks to Teachers, James, Chap. XI. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 281 



CHAPTER XXXVI 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
L LESSON STATEMENT 

One of the most effective ways of making spiritual truth real, 
and thus causing it to live in the mind and heart of the pupil, is 
through illustration. The most important truths of a lesson are 
often in abstract form; in this form they have little meaning to the 
pupil, for they have no apparent relation to the things of his life. 
In order to have meaning for him they must be connected with 
some concrete thing familiar to him, or with some experience of 
his past. Illustration thus becomes first aid to understanding; it is 
casting the light of the known upon the unknown ; it is making 
the truth clear and vivid ; making it live by relating it to life. 

The importance of illustrations can scarcely be overestimated. 
Everyone has interest in people, in living things, in natural objects, 
in action. Races in their infancy speak and write in pictures, and 
in crude drawings of animals and objects. With men and women 
of untrained minds, as with children, the power of observation is 
stronger and more active than that of reasoning. They see and 
feel more than they think. Robert South said that illustrations 
make the truth plain "by sliding it into the understanding through 
the windows of sense." 

I. KINDS OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Illustrations are of two kinds, verbal and material. Although 
they seem very different, their service is practically the same. Both 
kinds serve to interpret a new or unfamiliar idea by recalling a 
familiar idea or image. 

(i) Verbal Illustrations. Included under verbal illustrations 
are stories, incidents and anecdotes, examples, and figures of 
speech. Of these the most important are stories and certain prin- 
cipal figures of speech. The greatest teachers have made much use 
of both of these. Think how often Jesus spoke in parable ! Con- 
sider also how many times in his teaching he referred to himself in 
figurative form. He said, "I am the vine," "I am the good 
shepherd," 'T am the way," "I am the door." He spoke of him- 
self as "the bread of life," as "the Son of man," as "the stone which 
the builders rejected." 



282 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Stories we have treated in another connection. Let us now con- 
sider other principal forms of verbal illustrations : 

a. The Simile. The simile, consisting of an expressed com- 
parison, is the simplest of all figures of speech. Whenever a teacher 
uses "like" or "as," he employs the simile. If the comparison is 
apt it is very effective. The Bible has many similes. Examples are : 
"The path of the just is as the shining light," "The ungodly are 
not so : but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away," 

b. The Metaphor. The metaphor, like the simile, is based upon 
comparison, but differs in form. The resemblance of the things 
compared is indicated by applying the name, attribute, or act of one 
directly to the other. It has been thus defined : "A metaphor is an 
act of the imagination figuring one thing to be another." It thus 
leaves more to the hearer's imagination than the simile and acts 
more directly as a mental stimulant. It is stronger and more forc- 
ible than the simile and must be accounted one of the most effective 
forms of illustration. Some familiar examples from the Bible are : 
"Ye are the salt of the earth," "Ye are the light of the world," 
"Israel is an empty vine," "Judah is a lion's whelp." 

c. The Anecdote. An incident in brief story form is a very 
effective form of illustration. This differs from the lesson story 
in that the anecdote is merely used to throw light upon some partic- 
ular part of the lesson, or upon some one aspect of the lesson truth. 
Care and discrimination should be employed in the selection of 
illustrative incidents. They should be brief, pointed, true to life, 
and have an evident application to the immediate truth which it is 
desired to illustrate. An incident should never be chosen simply 
because it is interesting in itself. It may distract rather than illus- 
trate ; not uncommonly a story does more by way of turning away 
thought from a subject than by way of illuminating the truth. 

d. Qualities Required. In order to be effective verbal Illustra- 
tions should have certain characteristics : The terms of the illustra- 
tion should he familiar. The mistake is sometimes made of trying 
to illustrate by something less known than that of which the lesson 
treats. We require that which will make the lesson truth more 
simple; which will, if possible, translate the truth into terms of the 
pupil's concrete experience. We seek to interpret the new by the 
old. An illustration which brings in the unknown is only increas- 
ing difficulties. We remember the little boy's complaint, "O mother, 
dear, I do understand If only you won't explain It any more." The 
resemblance should he plainly apparent. It should be real, not 
fancied. No illustration should need to be explained. The likeness 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 283 

should be general ; the illustration should be more like than unlike 
the thing it pictures. Farfetched illustrations are of no service. 
There should be no striking dissimilarity. Two things may be much 
alike and yet so strikingly dissimilar in some one particular as to 
make comparison ludicrous. Tlie illustration should not he too 
striking or too attractive. Teaching is to be distinguished from 
amusing and entertaining. No good effect in teaching can possibly 
attend the telling of a story which is related simply because it is a 
good story. The purpose of illustration is not to make interesting 
but to make clear. It is not to attract attention to itself but to the 
truth which it illustrates. An illustration may be so engrossing as 
to entirely center attention upon itself. 

(2) Material Illustrations. These include everything adapted 
to object-teaching or picturing, such as maps, photographs and other 
pictures, diagrams, models, coins, and blackboard sketches or out- 
lines. Any object which will translate an abstract idea into con- 
crete form, or make more real a thought which it is desired to 
impress, is valuable as an aid in teaching. Pictures should be much 
more largely used than they are by most teachers. In a small class 
where all are in close enough proximity to the teacher to see read- 
ily, illustrated books may be used to very good effect. To a child a 
picture is very real. A little fellow of five was looking intently at 
a picture of a train just entering a station. His mother said, "Who 
do you suppose is inside?" The boy started up eagerly and ex- 
claimed, "Let's wait until it comes in and see." Every teacher 
would do well to make a collection, of objects in miniature, espe- 
cially models representing Oriental life, and choice photographs 
for use in teaching. The stereoscope is especially useful, and its 
possible use is being constantly widened by the increase of choice 
stereographs. It would be well if a blackboard were always within 
reach of the teacher. It may be utilized in many ways. The writ- 
ing of an important word, noting the successive steps in an argu- 
ment, placing an outline of the lesson on the board, sketching an 
object are a few of the uses to which it may be put. Many teach- 
ers who imagine they cannot use the blackboard at all would find 
it of much service, with a little practice. 

2. USES OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Some of the larger uses which illustrations serve in teaching may 
be briefly noted : 

(i) They Catch the Attention. Apt illustrations are certain 
to arrest wandering attention. They are an important means of 
providing change and variety in presentation, 



284 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

(2) They Quicken the Imagination. The service of imagina- 
tion must often be invoked as an aid to understanding and it can 
best be aw^akened by illustration. 

(3) They Kindle the Emotions. The emotions feed on concrete 
material. Feeling may instantly be aroused by translating truth 
into personal terms. 

(4) They Aid Reasoning. Abstract reasoning is impossible to 
some and difficult to many. Often a closely knit argument w^ill be 
intelligently followed only if each step is made clear by an apt illus- 
tration. Rufus Choate said he once spent two hours on a point 
which was perfectly clear within the first five minutes to almost 
everyone in the courtroom. Only when he talked about leather 
was he sure that one pig-headed juror caught his point. That one 
man was needed to win his case, 

(5) They Assist Memory. Incidents, examples, clever anec- 
dotes, striking figures, are easily retained, and serve as a means of 
recalling the truth illustrated by them. They are the pegs upon 
which the memory hangs the truths of the lesson. 

3. FINDING ILLUSTRATIONS 
(i) Use Original Incidents. First, let it be said that the matter 
of securing illustrations must be a process of finding them. Ready- 
made illustrations fit no better than ready-made clothes. The illus- 
tration taken over bodily from a printed collection is almost sure to 
be handled awkwardly and to require to have a place made for it 
instead of fitting naturally into the narrative or argument. That 
which is taken from the teacher's own experience or out of the 
life of those who are being taught has a freshness and spontaneity 
which no borrowed incident can have. 

(2) Cultivate the Imagination. The teacher needs imagination 
quite as much as his pupils. Let him insist on his own mind's fur- 
nishing him with rhetorical figures. Let him cultivate the power of 
seeing truth in concrete terms. The mind will respond, and that 
which at first seemed extremely difficult will in time become natural. 

(3) Use Observation. Be always looking for illustrations to 
enrich the next Sunday's lesson. Finding illustrations is largely a 
matter of persistently looking for them. An excellent plan is for 
the teacher to carry about with him a small notebook for the special 
purpose of noting every analogy, every conceived comparison, every 
incident which can possibly be of future use in teaching. Another 
equally good plan is for the teacher to secure a Bible either inter- 
leaved or with a wide margin and note in it as they occur to him 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 285 

thoughts, incidents, and quotations which illustrate any Scripture 
passage. In time, by diligent use of such a plan, the teacher will 
have an original treasury of illustrations and quotations invaluable 
to him in his teaching. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Observe the teaching of some good teacher. Take 
notes on : a. the extent of the use of illustrations ; 
b. kinds of illustrations used ; c. their source. 

2. Think of your own experience as a Sunday school 
pupil. Answer if you can these questions : a. To what 
extent have you realized help from illustrations? b. What 
kind of illustrations have helped you most? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Kinds of illustrations: Verbal, material. 

2. Verbal illustrations : Stories, incidents, anecdotes, 
examples, figures of speech. 

3. Material illustrations : Maps, pictures, models, coins, 
blackboard drawings. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Tell how illustrations make the truth vivid. 

What are the two principal kinds of illustrations? 

Name dififerent kinds of verbal illustrations. 

What is a simile? Give examples. A metaphor? 

What can you say about the use of illustrative incidents? 

What characteristics are required in effective verbal illustrations? 

Name different forms of material illustrations. Estimate the value of each. 

Give briefly some of the principal uses of illustrations. * 

W^hat suggestions can you give on finding illustrations? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In The Worker and His Work Series 

I. The Value and Use of Illustrations. 
S.W.H.W. Chap. IX. 
II. In the Library 

1. Illustration. 

Primer on Teaching, Adams, Chap. IX. 

2. Sidelights. 

Picture Work, Hervey, Chap. IV. 

3. Dangers of Illustration. 

Exposition and Illustration in Teaching, Adams, Chap. XVI. 



286 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XXXVII 
QUESTIONS 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

Next to the ability to tell stories well the Sunday school teacher 
needs to know how to ask questions. The story is the chief means 
of effective presentation, especially in the elementary grades, while 
questions are quite as important as a means of association. Socrates 
said that he asked questions in order "to bring thought to birth." 
Gregory puts it this way : ''The true stimulant of the human mind 
is a question, and the object or event that does not raise any ques- 
tion will stir no thought." Questions stimulate mental activity; 
they arouse the mind to lay hold of the truth, to digest it, assi^nilate 
it, and give it expression. 

I. CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD QUESTIONS 

(i) Good Questions Are Simple, Clear, and Direct. The 

simpler the language the better; technical expressions should be 
avoided as much as possible. The question should be framed so as 
to admit of only one correct answer. Questions are sometimes puz- 
zling because they may be answered in any one of many ways. Long, 
involved questions are unnecessary and are usually confusing. 
Teachers who frame long questions, complicated by parenthetical 
explanations, bristling with technical words as a means of exhibiting 
their learning, exhibit instead their lack of skill. 

(2) Good Questions Are Pointed, Pertinent, and Important. 
If it has these qualities the question is recognized to have real 
significance. It deals with a principal issue, ignores trivialities, and 
goes straight to the heart of things. A pupil does not like to be 
trifled with, nor required to relate unimportant details. A teacher 
may not always reasonably expect long answers. 

(3) Good Questions Are Such as Stimulate Thought. Some 
questions may be correctly answered and yet fail to make the pupil 
think. Such cannot be called effective questions. For the most 
part questions requiring only a "Yes" or "No" answer are of little 
value for this reason. The way in which the question is put, the 
inflection of the voice, suggest the answer. The pupil in answering 
follows a cue given by the teacher and is moved to no mental exer- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 287 

tion. Questions sometimes contain words which suggest the answer 
required. For example, "What class of people besides the scribes 
did Jesus condemn?" '-The Pharisees." The two terms are so 
frequently associated in the Gospels that one suggests the other. 
An answer which is a guess should never be accepted. The pupil 
should be required to explain his answer — to tell why he holds the 
opinion expressed. The teacher should not be impatient; if a pupil 
does not answer readily, but is evidently considering how to frame 
his answer, he should be given time. It must be remembered that 
the mental processes of some pupils are slower than those of others. 
The power of expression needs cultivation ; a pupil may know that 
which he feels unable to express. Questions should be used to aid 
expression. 

2. METHOD IN QUESTIONING 

(i) Questions Should Be Original. The use of printed ques- 
tions read from a lesson help cannot be too strongly condemned. 
Such a process cannot be anything other than formal, stilted, dry, 
and mechanical. Instead of awakening interest, such questioning 
puts to sleep whatever interest may have existed. The value of 
the teacher's personality is largely lost, being hidden behind the 
lesson leaf. The whole situation is dull and lifeless unless per- 
chance some pupil who longs to see something doing introduces 
some form of mischief just to relieve the intolerable monotony. 

In studying the lesson it is a good idea for the teacher to write 
a list of questions as a part of the lesson plan. These ought not 
to be taken to the session at all. If they are taken, let it be with the 
thought of falling back upon them only in the event of a crisis 
wherein the springs of spontaneous thought entirely fail. Still 
better, let the teacher prepare thoroughly, then go before the class 
with absolutely nothing in hand, throwing himself upon his own 
resources. The result may be somewhat disconcerting at first, but 
persistence in the plan is certain to result in the development of 
real teaching power. 

(2) Questions Should Be in the Line of Lesson Development. 
Questions should have their part in the development of the lesson. 
That is, while questions are most serviceable as a means of asso- 
ciation, they should have a real part in carrying out the entire 
lesson plan. Thinking again of the five steps of teaching and the 
relation of questions to each : Question first so as to discover a 
point of contact; then question so as to bring out the pupil's contri- 
bution to the presentation; by questions lead the pupil to furnish 
associations; aid the pupil through questioning to make his own 



288 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

generalization; finally, guide the pupil through questions toward 
the application. Try to preserve a balance between open discussion 
and rigid adherence to the lesson plan. The pupils should be en- 
couraged to ask questions as well as answer them, but the discus- 
sion must not be allowed to lead too far afield. 

(3) Questioning Should Be So Conducted as to Enlist the 
Whole Class. Some simple suggestions will point the way: 

a. Ask the Questions Before Naming the Pupil. Let each 
member of the class feel that he may be called upon for the answer. 
Always name some one particular pupil to reply to the question. 
Insist upon the pupils' answering only when called upon. Concert 
answers are a bad practice. 

b. Ask a Question Once Only. If the pupil called upon failed 
to understand it through inattention, call upon another. 

c. Expect the Attention of All. Frequently base a question 
directly upon a pupil's answer, addressing this question to a second 
pupil. This will train all the class to give attention to answers as 
well as to questions. Give no pupil in the class reason to think 
that you do not expect his constant attention. 

d. Question in Various Ways. Use variety. Your practice in 
questioning must not have so much sameness that the pupils know 
at any moment who is to be called upon next. Do not question 
pupils in turn about the class circle, or in alphabetical order. Some- 
times call upon the same pupil several times in quick succession. 
Do not confine your questions to a few of the brightest pupils, but 
be impartial. 

3. SPECIAL FORMS OF QUESTIONING 

(i) Rapid- Fire Questions. When a secondary division or an 
adult class has not made lesson preparation, rapid-fire questioning, 
designed to bring out the principal facts of the lesson, may some- 
times be used with good effect. All who will may answer. Such 
an exercise used occasionally may serve to break up formality, 
induce the timid to take part, and enliven a class which has a 
tendency to be too quiet. It is a method for occasional rather than 
regular use. Skill in rapid-fire questioning can be acquired only 
through practice. 

(2) Elliptical Questions. An elliptical question is one in which 
the pupil needs only to complete the teacher's sentence. For 
example, instead of asking, "What is the first beatitude?" the 
teacher says, "The first beatitude is, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit: 
for ," pausing for the pupil to complete the statement. These 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 289 

questions were formerly much used in Sunday school teaching, but 
are now generally condemned. However, they have a legitimate 
place, for occasional use, in cultivating expression in a timid child, 
in encouraging a pupil who may be somewhat dull, and in memo- 
rizing. The teacher should guard against supplying too large a part 
of the statement. 

(3) The Review. Every Sunday school gives some attention 
to review, and everywhere it is held in general disregard. To 
pupils of all grades it seems dull and uninteresting; to most 
teachers almost useless. This is the result of the prevalence of a 
superficial conception of what constitutes a review and of conse- 
quent wrong methods. A review is more than a mere repetition of 
words ; it is a re-view, a re-thinking of thoughts. It should include 
gaining a new view of familiar truths, for its purpose is not to aid 
in mechanical memorizing but to consider the teaching of the whole 
in the light gained from a study of all its parts. It is the organiza- 
tion of single facts or truths into wholeness. This statement holds 
for the review of a particular lesson or all the lessons of a quarter. 
In the quarterly review the lessons considered singly may be seen 
to complement one another, or to fit together in such a way as to 
take on new significance and to enforce some new and larger truth. 
These purposes cannot be accomplished by reading off in concert 
the various lesson titles, Golden Texts, and "central truths." Such 
a performance is next to meaningless. The review should be con- 
ducted by the teachers of the various classes, not by the superin- 
tendent, and variety of method should be used. 

(4) The Examination. As we attain to a higher standard in 
our work, examinations will be in more general use in Sunday 
schools. They have a real value in stimulating regular and thor- 
ough lesson preparation, and also in aiding the pupil in the organiza- 
tion of the knowledge he has gained. While they cannot be required, 
if the matter is tactfully handled, pupils can be led to take examina- 
tions by some form of recognition such as awarding special certi- 
ficates or other honors to those who pass creditably. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Observe the teaching of some good teacher. Take 
notes on: a. Kinds of questions asked; b. The teacher's 
methods of questioning. 

2. Considering further this same lesson : What was the 
effect of the questions on this class? Give examples of 
particularly effective questions. Why were they effective ? 



290 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

3. With a particular class in mind, prepare a full list of 
original questions on next Sunday's lesson. 

4. Describe the best review you have ever participated 
in, either as teacher or pupil. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Purpose of questions : The purpose of questions is 
to arouse the mind to lay hold of the truth, to digest it, to 
assimilate it, and to give it expression. 

2. Characteristics of good questions : a. Simple, clear, 
and direct; b. Pointed, pertinent, and important; <^. Power 
to stimulate thought. 

3. Method in Questioning: a. Ask original questions; 
b. in the line of lesson development; c. in ways to enlist 
the whole class. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What is the importance of questions in teaching? 

What is their purpose? 

Give the primary characteristics of good questions. 

Give some additional characteristics of good questions. 

Cite examples of kinds of questions which stimulate no thought. 

Tell why questions should be original. 

How may questions help in each step of lesson development? 

Give important suggestions on how to enlist the whole class. 

What is the value of rapid-fire questions? Of elliptical questions? 

What constitutes a good review? 

What is the place of examinations in Sunday school work? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In The Worker and His Work Series 
I. The Teacher's Use of Questions. 
S.W.H.W. Chap. VIII. 
II. In the Library 

1. The Art of Questioning. 

The Art of Questioning, Fitch. 

2. Method in Questioning. 

Brief Course in the Teaching Process, Strayer, Chap. XI. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 291 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 
ENLISTING THE PUPIL'S ACTIVITY 

L LESSON STATEMENT 

We have previously considered the fundamental character of 
activity, and its significance. (Read again Chap. XXIV.) This 
study of activity made clear to us that the teacher must find ways 
of utilizing the activity of the pupil. Without this there can be 
no real teaching. The easy thing is for the teacher merely to repeat 
the lesson to the pupil and to tell what ought to be done, but we 
must realize that if the teacher stops short of getting the thing done, 
he has by that much failed to teach. The success of the teacher 
in securing expression is one of the most vital tests of his work. 
The Sunday school that has the most learned teachers is not always 
the most successful school. Scholarship in the Sunday school is 
barren unless it is used to stimulate life. 

I. EXPRESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF SERVICE 

The most important kind of expression is active service for others. 
The gospel is a religion of unselfish service. The most important 
lessons we have to teach are those which find natural expression in 
deeds of love, kindness, and mercy. When we have influenced our 
pupils to go out into the walks of daily life and, according to the 
measure of their opportunity and ability, repeat the works of Christ, 
we have actually taught them the gospel. 

(i) What to Do. The first great step has been taken when the 
teacher realizes the necessity of asking himself: "What is there 
for my pupils to do?" It is impossible to give a catalogue of expres- 
sive activities of much value to the teacher in any particular situa- 
tion. What is to be done depends upon the lesson to be taught and 
the possible ways close at hand for expressing its teaching. Usu- 
ally there is no dearth of opportunities. Everywhere there are 
those who are sick, or aged, or infirm, or crippled, to be ministered 
to. There are many overburdened mothers and neglected little 
ones, and those who are for one reason or another unfortunate. 
The home is the first and best place to express the spirit of unself- 
ish service. Kindness shown to birds and animals in definite ways 



292 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

is good. Children may sometimes help in keeping a village or town 
clean, or in beautifying it. There are always things to be done 
for the church and school, both at home and abroad. 

(2) On the Choice of Activities. At a particular time one thing 
is not always as good as another. The effort should be not merely 
to find just anything to do, but to find the fitting thing, the doing 
of which will make the truth which thus finds expression a per- 
manent part of the pupil's life. 

a. Activities Should be Suited to the Grade. A child should 
not be encouraged to do that which is beyond his years. In gen- 
eral, it is best for little children to do things for those of their own 
age; for young people to help other young people. Do not expect 
the unreasonable or the incongruous. 

b. Activities Should Deepen the Impression' of the Central 
Truth. Do not allow the activities which are engaged in to dis- 
sipate your emphasis upon the central truth of the lesson. Choose 
activities which impress the principal truth. 

c. Activities Should be Spontaneous. Compelled action will 
have no good effect. That which the pupils do against their will 
accomplishes nothing. Encourage them to suggest activities. When 
you are obliged to make the suggestions, bring it about that the 
doing of the thing is by the free choice of the pupils themselves. 

(3) Cooperate with the Pastor and the Superintendent. In 
planning the more general class activities the teacher should con- 
sult the pastor and the superintendent. Often they will be glad to 
make suggestions on definite lines of activity. The various classes 
of the school should fit into the pastor's plans. The Sunday school 
is to a considerable extent the pastor's working force ; through its 
classes he may accomplish the work of the church for the com- 
munity. Do not consider merely what you would like to have your 
class do. Rather, with necessary respect for the pupils' ages and 
interests, seek to have your class fit into the pastor's plan for the 
religious and social work of the parish. 



2. EXPRESSION IN THE LESSON PERIOD 

During the lesson period the pupil will be doing something — the 
teacher may be sure of that. The problem is, "What are you going 
to have him do?" Every pupil will have a certain amount of nerv- 
ous and physical energy in store, and it will find some way out. 

(i) Assign Tasks to Pupils. There are a few things in every 
class session, the doing of which will be pleasing to the pupils and 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 293 

at the same time provide channels of activity. Let the offering be 
received by one pupil, recorded by another; let whatever materials 
are to be used be passed by pupils. When a reference is to be 
looked up have a pupil do it. The class record may be kept by 
a pupil, but the teacher should see to it that all entries are made 
vi'ith neatness and accuracy as an expression of religious purpose. 

(2) Report on Assignments. An oral or written report on a 
definite assignment is of much value. Of this much larger use may 
be made than commonly is made. 

(3) Reproduce the Lesson. In lesson presentation the teacher 
should bear constantly in mind, "No impression without expres- 
sion," lest he use all the time in merely telling the lesson to the 
pupils. There can be no assurance that the pupil gets the truth unless 
he is required to express it. The effort of expression will cause 
him to think. In all grades reproducing the lesson in some way 
is a very important element in teaching. 

a. In Beginners' Classes. In teaching Beginners it is necessary 
to use music' and simple little plays as means by which the chil- 
dren may tell the lesson story. The little child learns through his 
hands and feet as well as through his eyes and ears, and he does 
not know how to keep still. His imagination will be a great help 
to him in playing the lesson story. (See p. 190.) 

b. In Primary Classes. The children will delight in retelling the 
lesson story and their reproduction of it will be quite as impor- 
tant a part of the teaching as the teacher's first telling. With 
a little encouragement the hesitant pupil will overcome his timid- 
ity and be willing to respond. The story becomes very real to 
him as the child proceeds to tell it. It almost seems to him as if he 
were telling it for the first time ; he becomes the actor, shares his 
feelings, and is influenced by his motives and purposes. It is evi- 
dent that here is real teaching. The child will also be glad to retell 
the story in a picture. What matters it if his drawing is crude and 
inartistic? You are not teaching drawing but a religious lesson. 
The effort to represent the truth through the fingers gives it an 
opportunity to take hold upon the mind and heart. The drawing 
may be with pencil or crayon on pads or sheets of paper, or on 
the blackboard. In both Beginners' and Primary classes the repro- 
duction of the story should be on the Sunday following its presen- 
tation, provision for it being given in the early part of the hour. 

c. In Junior Classes. Occasionally Juniors should be given an 
opportunity to reproduce the lesson in story form. A Junior usu- 
ally tells a story with much zest. Written work now becomes pos- 



294 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

sible on a larger scale. Some of the forms of handwork find their 
largest application in teaching Juniors. 

d. In Intermediate Classes. Handwork is useful in teaching 
Intermediates, but it must be on a plane of dignity and importance 
such as to appeal to them. They despise being asked to do the same 
things as the "little kids." Ask the pupils frequently for illustra- 
tions; expect them to supply associations. Watch the unresponsive 
or unruly boy keenly to discover his bit of knowledge or interest in 
the lesson and then try tactfully to get him to explain the point to 
some pupil who does not have his knowledge of it. 

e. In Senior and Adult Classes. In these classes principal 
dependence must be placed upon questions. Never be satisfied 
with a perfectly obvious answer. Find out what lies behind the 
statement the person makes. One may answer any number of ques- 
tions in the words of the lesson and yet have no understanding of 
what the lesson means or of what its application is to life. The 
real teacher is never satisfied until he has evidence that the mem- 
bers of his class are doing their own thinking. 

3. HANDWORK 

The term "handwork" may be used to mean any form of express- 
ing truth through the constructive activities of the hand. As 
Patterson Du Bois says, "It is a way of letting the pupil think him- 
self into knowledge through the hand." Froebel long ago insisted 
that all education rests upon creative self-activity. The applica- 
tion of the principle to teaching in the Sunday school has been a 
long while coming, but its importance is now generally recognized. 

(i) Reasons for Handwork in the Sunday School. The defini- 
tion just given is itself the reason. We learn through doing. Be- 
cause handwork is a form of doing which will help us learn what 
the Sunday school exists to teach, we will use it. Incidentally it will 
keep fingers busy that otherwise would engage in mischief. But 
this is incidental ; handwork is not merely busy zvork. The larger 
reasons for it are well stated by Cope : "It is the natural way of 
education through self-activity ; it involves self-expression, upon 
which the value of all impression depends ; it enlists a large pro- 
portion of the child's whole life ; it follows the laws of his develop- 
ing nature, his desire to do, to create ; it accords with the play 
spirit, which is really only the creation spirit ; it secures cooperation 
through the whole class, teaching pupils to work with others, de- 
veloping the social spirit; it never fails to secure interest, the basis 
of attention ; it removes religion from the realm of the abstract 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 295 

and unreal to the practical, concrete, and close at hand.; it coordi- 
nates the work of the Sunday school with that of the day school, 
tending to make the pupil's education unitary." ^ 

(2) Forms of Handwork. Some of the forms of handwork we 
have already spoken of incidentally earlier in this chapter; for 
completeness we include them again here. 

a. Picture Work. This will include drawing upon paper or 
blackboard, outlining from pictures or drawings, coloring with 
crayons or water colors, illuminating initial letters, and the collec- 
tion of pictures for notebooks. 

b. Map Work. There are various useful forms of map work. 
The simplest is tracing or coloring outline maps. Next is simple 
map-drawing. Of much interest and value are relief maps in sand, 
clay, or pulp. Under this head we classify also diagrams and 
charts as of buildings, plans of cities, and historical events chrono- 
logically arranged. These afford opportunity for original thought. 

c. Object Work. This especially 'appeals to the constructive 
interests of boys. Models of weapons, tools, costumes, furniture 
and houses, even of the tabernacle and the temple, may be made. 
This will involve much searching of the Bible and of reference 
works for exact information. 

d. Notebook Work. A permanent notebook is an excellent thing 
for a pupil to make. It may contain references on topics ; written 
answers to questions, stories retold, choice passages from the Bible 
or from other sources by way of illustration of Bible truth, biog- 
raphies of Bible characters, a life of Christ, or even a harmony of 
the Gospels. There is no end to the variety of useful notebook 
work. 

e. Museum Work. A class which has its room may make pro- 
vision for the preservation of objects and models representing Bible 
manners and customs. Or the school may have such a museum to 
which various classes will contribute. Occasionally some article 
from ancient times or from the Palestine of to-day may be secured. 

(3) Suggestions on Handwork. Handwork should not be 
regarded as an end in itself. Cutting and pasting may become a 
nuisance when the time is entirely taken up with it and that with- 
out understanding of its connection with the lessons. Sometimes it 
becomes an excuse for laziness or slackness on the part of the 
teacher. The lesson period is so brief that most of the handwork 
should be done at home, or in a weekday meeting of the class. 



^The Modern Sunday School, p. ii6. 



296 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

11. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Considering yet again the Sunday school which you 
know best : What effort is made to enhst the activities of 
the pupils in religious and social service? 

2. Observe a Junior or Intermediate class during a school 
session: a. Did the pupils remain motionless? If not, 
what did they do? Describe fully, b. What ways can 
you suggest of utilizing the activity of these pupils? 

3. Talk with a superintendent in whose school, or with 
a teacher in whose class, handwork is being successfully 
used. Find out all you can about the methods used. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Review the memory assignment of Chap. XXIV. 

2. Forms of Handwork: a. Picture Work; b. Map 
Work; c. Object Work°; d. Notebook Work; e. Museum 
Work. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Why must the teacher find ways of utilizing the pupil's activities? 
What is the most important kind of expression? 
What general suggestions may be made on what to do? 
State important guiding principles in the choice of activities. 
Why is it well to have pupils do such things as collect the offerings and 
look up references? 

What is the importance of having reports made on assignments? 

Tell how the lesson can be best reproduced in each grade. 

Give a definition of "handwork." 

Why should it have a place in Sunday school teaching? 

Name and give examples of the different forms of handwork. 

Give suggestions on the use of handwork. 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I, In The Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Higher Forms of Expression. 

I.W.H.W. Chap. IX. 

2. Handwork for Seniors. 

S.W.H.W. Chap. XV. 

3. Expression Through Handwork. 

I.W.H.W. Chap. VIII. 
II. In the Library 

1. Types of Handwork. 

Handwork in the Sunday School, Littlefield, Chap. II. 

2. Neglected Aspects of Manual Work. 

Efficiency in the Sunday School, Cope, Chap. XVII. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 297 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

SOME ULTIMATE CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

We have considered one by one a few of the most important 
principles of teaching. There are other principles, some almost 
equally important, which would claim attention in a more extensive 
and thorough discussion, but the limitations of this course forbid 
us to go further. 

In the closing chapter of this section we touch upon topics of so 
great moment as to be fairly called ultimate conditions of success. 
The teacher may have ever so complete a mastery of the technique 
of instruction, but unless he gives attention to these things his 
work will fall short. 

I. GENERAL PREPARATION 

Every teacher should claim some time regularly for general read- 
ing and study. If one's teaching is to be fresh and interesting, one 
must read somewhat widely. No amount of preparation of partic- 
ular lessons will suffice to give the tone of intellectual vitality and 
power which is so desirable. Said Goethe, "Nothing is worse than 
a teacher who knows only as much as he has to make known to 
the scholar." The horizons of the teacher's knowledge should 
therefore be constantly widening. No study of science, literature, 
or art should be deemed foreign to his work as a teacher. Certain 
lines of reading closely related to the study of the Bible itself will 
be of constant and immediate value to him. Such subjects are 
the history of ancient nations, as Egypt, Babylonia, and Assyria ; 
the history of religions ; the history of the Christian Church, of 
the Reformation, of his own denomination, and of modern missions ; 
the growth of Christian doctrine and modern statements of Chris- 
tian teachings; the Bible as literature. The busiest teacher, if he 
has learned the wise and economical use of time, can read at least 
one strong, educative book every three months. Even this amount 
of reading, wisely chosen and persisted in, will in a few years 
greatly enrich and enhance the power of any person's teaching. 



298 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

2. LEARNING BY EXPERIENCE 

You can become a successful teacher — we do not hesitate to 
assure you of that. A few teachers are born; that is, they have 
an inheritance of personal traits which almost insures their suc- 
cess. Many teachers are made through training and experience. 
Every year's experience will mean, normally, a measurable increase 
in teaching ability and skill. You will probably meet with discour- 
agements; it is well to be forewarned. This training course can- 
not insure you against them, nor could any other. The teacher's 
problems are many and every teacher confronts some which are 
unique. Determine to profit by the instruction of experience. 
When apparent failure comes, instead of being discouraged by it, 
ask: "What does this teach me? How can I turn this uncom- 
fortable experience to account?" Learning in this way is not 
particularly pleasant. "Experience is a hard school" — so much of 
the old proverb is true ; but the remainder of it might better be 
rendered, "and they are fools who will not learn in it." When you 
have an unfortunate experience with a class or with some one 
pupil, guard against laying all the blame on the other party. It will 
be easy to say and to think that the trouble is all with the other 
person ; it is practically certain that it is not all with him. You 
can profit only in one way — by discovering where you were at 
fault. No matter how difficult it may be for you to do it, place 
yourself in the philosophic attitude. Ask yourself again and again, 
"What was my mistake?" If you find no answer go to men 
or women of wider experience and lay the whole situation frankly 
before them. If you are willing to crucify your pride, you can 
learn a great deal from the experience of others. No matter how 
many seeming defeats you may have, remember that no person is 
finally defeated in an undertaking or in a career until he owns him- 
self defeated. Circumstances nor fate itself can conquer an uncon- 
querable spirit. 

3. FRIENDSHIP 

The teacher's attitude toward the pupil must be one of sincere 
friendship. Personality cannot kindle under the touch of person- 
ality if there is any aloofness or separateness, or barrier of reserve, 
or lack of frankness and confidence. There must be both respect 
and comradeship between teacher and pupil. This is only to say in 
a little different way what we have said before in declaring that 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 299 

love is the first law of teaching. Genuine friendship has for its 
basis : 

(i) Respect for Personality. You must respect your pupil for 
what he is, for God has made him what he is. He has a right to 
be himself. You are not to break him but to mold him. You can 
help him most not by suppression but by development. His most 
sacred possession is his own individuality. It is this which differ- 
entiates him from every other person in the universe. He may 
have characteristics which you do not like — that is a matter of 
little consequence. You dare not allow these to interfere with your 
respect for him as a person, without which there can be no real 
friendship between you. 

(2) A Real Personal Interest. You must go further. You must 
feel an interest in the pupil. Your chief concern is in him, not 
in the thing you are trying to teach. You must hold continually 
before you the person that is to he, remembering that it is your 
holy task to work with God in leading out and in developing that 
refined, ennobled, enlarged, God-inspired personality. The boy may 
be rough and awkward, his manners crude, his appearance far from 
prepossessing, many of his ways trying; but if looking upon him 
like Angelo at the rough block you are able to see a David, it will 
not be difficult for you to be interested in him. 

(3) A Willingness to Share Life. Merely telling your pupils 
what they ought to be will avail little ; you must share your life 
with them. This is the final test of the genuineness of friendship. 
We are all familiar with the type of teacher who says, "I have left 
my beautiful home to-day because I love you children, and I have 
come over here to tell you how to be good." She wonders why the 
children do not respond to her declarations and exhortations. It is 
because she stands aloof from them and expects her words to bridge 
the chasm between her life and theirs, which words can never do. 
That teacher will succeed in the task which a sense of duty has 
impelled her to undertake only by opening her home and heart to 
her pupils. There can be no withholding of the treasures either of 
possessions or of life. The teacher must be willing to give with- 
out stint, not counting the cost. He must have the spirit of the 
true father who says, to quote Patterson Du Bois, not "I will 
conquer that child whatever it costs him," but "I will help that child 
to conquer himself, whatever it costs me." 

4- THE SPIRITUAL GOAL 

We recur again to the declaration that the supreme goal of our 



300 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

efifort is spiritual. We dare not so center our attention upon facts 
and methods of teaching them that we lose sight of the spiritual 
needs of our pupils. It is easy for the teaching process to become 
mechanical. When this happens the teacher merely goes through 
the motions of teaching. We viust be possessed with the master 
motive of establishing the life of God in the souls of our pupils. 
We must look upon our teaching as an evangel. We must believe 
that we are sent of God and expect that he will make our influence 
and our teaching effective. Our evangelism is not regulated by 
the calendar. Our zeal is as intense, our spirit as fervent, our 
faith as strong in July as in January, and in April as in November. 
We have respect only for "the seasons of the soul." We recognize 
that our work must be delicately done, that we cannot force a spir- 
itual response from the pupil by our authority as teacher, or by the 
authority of the Church, or of the Bible. We fear dire results if 
in our superior strength we override our pupils' wills, or create 
artificial emotion, or by circumstance or method take unfair advan- 
tage of them. We have faith in our pupils and in the truth of 
God, and we believe if we can make it clear and plain and real to 
them that their minds and hearts and wills will respond, and "with 
open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord," they will 
be "changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by 
the Spirit of the Lord." 

The most distressing fact in connection with the Sunday school 
work of the past has been that from forty to seventy per cent of 
the pupils have passed through the elementary grades and gone out 
of the Sunday school without having been established in the reli- 
gious life or won to the Church. This is fearful and needless waste ; 
it marks our work a failure, and in future it must not be. What- 
ever else must be left undone, we will win our boys and girls to 
permanent love and loyalty to Jesus Christ and active service for 
him. 



II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

I. Write a statement on how the study of this section of 
the course has helped you most. If a teacher, in what 
ways has it improved your teaching? If not a teacher, in 
what ways have your ideas of what teaching is been 
changed ? 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 301 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"There is no chance, no destiny, no fate 
Can circumvent, or hinder, or control 
The firm resolve of a determined soul. 
Gifts count for little ; will, alone, is great. 
No man can place a limit on thy strength ; 
All heights are thine, if thou v^ilt but believe 
In thy Creator and thyself. At length 
Some feet must tread all heights now unattained. 
Why not thine own? Press on. Achieve!" 

— Wilcox. 

1. Some ultimate conditions of success: a. Broad gen- 
eral preparation; b. experience; c. friendship; d. an ever- 
present spiritual purpose. 

2. The basis of genuine friendship : .a. Respect for per- 
sonality; b. a real personal interest; c. a willingness to 
share life. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Why is the teacher's general preparation important? 
Suggest some valuable lines of reading. 

To what extent is it true that teachers are born, not made? 
How may one profit even by experiences of failure? 
Why is friendship between teacher and pupil necessary? 
What do you tinderstand by the sacredness of personality? 
How may one feel a personal interest in every pupil? 
What is the final test of the genuineness of friendship? 
What is the final condition of success in Sunday school teaching? 
Describe the attitude which the teacher should have toward the spiritual 
goal. 

What has been the measure of Sunday school success in the past? 
What do you purpose will be the measure of your success? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In The Worker and His Work Series 

1. Consecration Plus Preparation. 

S.W.H.W. Chap. V. 

2. The Teacher as a Friend. 

I.W.H.W. Chap. XII. 

3. The Evangelistic Aim in Teaching. 

A.W.H.W. Chap. XII. 
II. In the Library 

1. Jesus the Ideal Teacher. 

The Making of a Teacher, Brumbaugh, Chap. XXII. 

2. The Essential Qualifications of the Teacher. 

Psychological Principles of Education, Home, Chap. IV. 

3. The Power of Personal Association. 

Rational Living, King, Chap. XII. Sec. II. 



302 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

SECTION IV— THE SCHOOL 

CHAPTER XL 

THE CHURCH OF OUR LORD 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

The Sunday school is the school of the Church. Its teachers are 
teachers of the Church. It is highly desirable that they should be 
acquainted with the history of the Church in the service of which 
they have enlisted. We present here only the broadest outlines, 
hoping that this introduction will create an interest which will lead 
to further study. 

I. THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

The period of the Ancient Church may be said to have three divi- 
sions : 

(i) The Apostolic Age. The growth of the Church within the 
lifetime of the apostles has received treatment in an earlier chapter 
(see Chapter XIX). 

(2) The Epoch of Persecution. 

"a. The Persecutions. As we have seen, the persecution of be- 
lievers began in Jerusalem in the first years of the life of the 
Church (see p. 142), These earliest persecutions were purely local 
and impulsive, Later they became general and systematic, until 
finally the state engaged in a determined conflict with the Christian 
religion. The climax was reached in the reign of Diocletian (A. D. 
284-305), who purposed the extinction of Christianity. Four edicts 
commanded the destruction of all Christian churches, the burning 
of all copies of the Bible, the removal of all Christians from public 
office, universal sacrifice to the heathen gods — refusal to be pun- 
ished by death. But the severest persecutions which the wicked 
ingenuity of man could devise only served to intensify the zeal and 
devotion of the Christians. The growth of the Church, both in 
numbers and in aggressiveness, was continuous, and it finally be- 
came apparent to all that it had a secret source of life against which 
the civil power was impotent. 

b. The Church Predominantly Gentile. After the destruction 
of Jerusalem (see pp. 99, 100) the Church had no preeminent Jewish 
center. Antioch became the base of missionary operations (see 
pp. 143, 144). More was involved in this than merely a geographical 
change of center. From this time on, Christianity was predomi- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 303 

nantly a Gentile religion. From Antioch the gospel spread both east 
and west. It was carried into Persia, into Armenia, and possibly- 
even into India. 

c. The Development in Alexandria. By the latter part of the 
second century Alexandria in Egypt had become the foremost 
seat of learning in the world, a second Athens. Here Christian 
and pagan learning came into conflict, with the final result that the 
Christian school took the place of the pagan university. To this 
Christian school converts to Christianity came from afar for study 
and training, going back to their homes as preachers and teachers. 

d. The Spread of Christianity through the West. During the 
lifetime of the apostle Paul, as we have seen (in Chapter XX), 
Christianity became firmly established in the great centers of the 
western world, as Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome. In the second cen- 
tury missionary labors were continued, and the gospel was widely 
extended. By the beginning of the fourth century the Church was 
organized throughout Spain, all the Gallic provinces, and Britain. 
Carthage in Africa had become a strong and aggressive Christian 
center. 

e. The Church Triumphant. With the accession of Constan- 
tine to the throne of the empire (A. D. 306-337) a day of supreme 
triumph had apparently come for Christianity. Persecution had 
passed and a professed Christian sat on the throne. In 313 Con- 
stantine by edict recognized Christianity as a legal religion, and in 
2,22, he made it the established faith of the empire. The pagan 
temples were confiscated for Christian churches, the civil observance 
of Sunday was ordered, the clergy were freed from municipal and 
military duty, and Christian education was encouraged. Imperial 
favor, however, proved to be more a peril than a benefit. The state 
assumed supervision and control over the Church. Offices were 
multiplied. Converts were made by patronage. Spiritual life de- 
clined and corruption flourished. 

f. Theological Controversies. Heathenism could not be con- 
quered by imperial edict. Men who were baptized in obedience to 
state law continued to be dominated by heathen thought and ideals. 
Although Christianity had become the authoritative religion of the 
empire, in the realm of thought controversy still went on. One 
who would understand the slow progress of civilization during 
these centuries must take into consideration the power of great 
systems of thought. Philosophies die slowly if, indeed, they may 
be said ever to die. Every great truth of Christianity had to win 
its way against scathing criticism, and prolonged examination and 



304 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

debate. Through councils attended by bishops, priests, and dea- 
cons, the Church sought to reach agreernent in statements of behef 
and to pronounce the authoritative word in doctrinal controversies. 
A few among the many great names of this epoch ought to be 
very familiar to us. Chrysostom, "the golden-mouthed," was 
known as the most eloquent of all preachers ; he became bishop of 
Constantinople in 397. Jerome, born in Italy and baptized in Rome, 
but resident for the most of his life in Syria, was a great Bible 
scholar. He was the author of the Vulgate translation (see p. 18). 
Augustine, baptized in 387 at the age of thirty-three, became the 
most able and widely influential theologian of the ancient Church. 
His influence has been strong down to our own time. 

2. THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH 

(i) An Epoch of Transition. It is impossible to fix upon any 
exact date as marking the transition from the Ancient to the 
Mediaeval Church. It is sometimes said, with reason, that the 
Mediaeval period begins with 476 when Rome fell into the hands of 
the Teutons. The fall of Rome marked the passing away in out- 
ward form of the ancient civiHzations. Their influence continued, 
however, and throughout the long centuries of the Middle Ages the 
old ideals, customs, and institutions of Greece and Rome con- 
tended with the newer Teutonic ideas and ideals. Conflicts, modifi- 
cation, and fusion took place in politics, literature, and religion, and 
gradually a new civilization emerged. 

(2) The Rise of the Papacy. The Church at Rome early 
became prominent, and gradually attained to preeminence. The 
prominence of the Church led naturally to the increase of the 
bishops' power ; from the second century on the claims of the 
bishop of Rome to authority as the constitutional primate of the 
Christian world were made with constantly increasing frequency. 
In the fifth century the theory was put forth that the Church is an 
absolute monarchy, with the bishop of Rome, as Pope, at its head. 
From Pope Leo I (440-461), who is regarded as the founder of 
the papal monarchy, the power of the papacy rapidly increased 
until, in 800, Charles the Great received his crown as emperor, at 
the hands of Pope Leo III. During the centuries which follow. 
Church history is largely an account of the intrigues and struggles 
of the rulers of the Church to dominate and control the state. The 
climax of political power was attained in the thirteenth century. 
The fourteenth century was one of rapid decline. Throughout the 
long history, as the political power of the Church grew, her moral 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 305 

ideals and spiritual life declined. Immorality, corruption, and abuse 
of power were as rife and as flagrant within the Church as without. 
(3) The Eastern Church. The Church in the East opposed 
Rome's assumption of authority and power. Differences of temper- 
ament and of doctrine widened the breach. Constantinople became 
the center of eastern influence. In 1054, the final break occurred 
and the Greek Catholic Church became a separate body. 

3. THE MODERN CHURCH 

(i) The Protestant Reformation. There are no sudden breaks 
in history. No great movements in the life of Church or state 
spring forth instantaneously or without preparation. In the dark- 
est, deariest epochs of the Middle Ages there were influences grad- 
ually gathering strength which in time would work the most pro- 
found changes in religious beliefs, customs, and institutions. These 
were incarnated now and again in some heroic soul, purer, braver, 
or more spiritual than other men of the time, whose voice was 
lifted in strong protest. 

a. Some Forerunners of the Reformation. In England John 
Wiclif, a learned and pious priest, a doctor of Oxford University, 
attacked the political abuses of the papacy and organized a move- 
ment against the corruptions of the Church. He was intensely 
active by pen and voice. His tracts were circulated for two hun- 
dred years. He anticipated Wesley's plan by sending out itinerant 
preachers to preach wherever they could gather an audience. His 
preeminent service was his translation of the Bible into English 
speech. His death occurred in 1384. 

John Huss, of Bohemia, was a fervid preacher with an intense 
zeal for practical holiness. He had a high spiritual ideal of the 
duties and functions of the clergy. He exalted the plain teachings 
of Scripture above the dogmas and ordinances of the Church. He 
was burned as a heretic on July 6, 1415. Some of his followers 
after his death lived in the mountains of Moravia. The Moravian 
Brethren are his spiritual descendants. 

Savonarola was a monk in the convent of Saint Mark in Florence, 
Italy, who cried out vehementl}'- against the moral corruption of 
Rome. He won a great following among the people of Florence 
and achieved a remarkable religious triumph. Powerful political 
forces against which he warred, conspired with the Pope to accom- 
plish his overthrow, and he was burned at the stake in 1498. 

b. The Reformation in Germany. For centuries all of the 
Teutonic countries had been ripening for open revolt against the 



3o6 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

existing order. Finally the public mind everywhere was ready 
and the only need was for a great leader. God thrust forth Martin 
Luther, an obscure monk, as his agent, and central Germany became 
the theater of action upon the outcome of which depended the spir- 
itual destiny of nations. After years of spiritual preparation, 
Luther took a decisive step when, on October 31, 1517, he nailed 
his ninety-five theses to the door of the Castle Church in Witten- 
berg. He prepared these statements of doctrine for the considera- 
tion of priests and theologians, but ''within a month they were spread 
throughout all Christendom, as though carried by the swift wings 
of an angel." Opposition, of course, arose and Luther was bitterly 
attacked. He answered his opponents with terrific vigor, and the 
tremendous conflict was on. It raged with Luther as leader until 
his death in 1546, and thereafter continued until 1555, when by the 
Religious Peace of Augsburg the rights of the Protestants received 
recognition. Political issues were early involved and the whole 
of Germany engaged in war. As a religious movement three prin- 
cipal issues were paramount — the assumption of ecclesiastical and 
political power by the Pope ; the moral abuses condoned by the 
Church, especially the corruption of the priests ; and the doctrinal 
perversion of the teachings of the Bible. In the formulation of the 
doctrines, the organization of the German Protestant Church, and 
the establishment of schools, Luther was greatly aided by Philip 
Melanchthon. 

c. The Reformation in England. The translation of the Bible 
into the language of the people was the most powerful single 
influence in bringing about the Reformation in England. From the 
beginning, however, the movement was to a considerable extent 
a political one. In the time of Henry VIII both king and people 
rejected the supremacy of the Pope, and the king became the head 
of the Church in England. There was, however, no general re- 
nunciation of Catholic doctrines. Following a reaction under Mary, 
in the reign of Elizabeth, Protestantism was established as the 
national faith. The English Church, however, retained much that 
had belonged to the Roman system. The Puritans dissented from 
the state Church and made a complete break with Catholicism both 
in faith and custom. 

d. The Reformation in Other Lands. In Switzerland the spirit 
of civil and religious liberty was strong. Zwingli, a contemporary 
of Luther, rendered eminent service to the cause. Another con- 
temporary was John Calvin. His emphasis was almost entirely doc- 
trinal, His influence took permanent form in the organization of 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 307 

the Reformed Churches. In the Netherlands the triumph of the 
Reformation was complete. More than 100,000 Protestants of these 
lands are estimated to have suffered martyrdom under the Inquisi- 
tion, In France those who espoused the Protestant cause were 
known as Huguenots. Their history is one long story of suffer- 
ing and martyrdom. In one awful massacre, that of Saint Barthol- 
omew, not less than 30,000 were killed. In the Scandinavian coun- 
tries Protestantism was eagerly accepted by kings and people. John 
Knox was the strong and fearless leader of the Reformation in 
Scotland. Against the opposition of queen, court, and a powerful 
nobility the forces of Reform won complete victory. 

(2) Modern Church Developments. 

a. In Europe. Although every step of progress was stubbornly 
resisted, the Reformation had a profound effect upon the Roman 
Catholic Church. Some abuses were abolished and reforms were 
gradually introduced. As a propagating force it has been the most 
powerful piece of ecclesiastical machinery ever organized. The 
temporal power of the Pope, though undermined by the Reforma- 
tion, was not finally overthrown until 1871. Since then the Pope 
has been a prisoner in the Vatican palace. Germany has been pre- 
dominantly Lutheran ever since Luther's day, although the Roman 
Catholic Church has remained a powerful factor in the nation. 
The French Revolution resulted in the formal abolishment of 
Roman Catholicism in France as a state religion. The developments 
of recent years have created a new opportunity for the gospel in 
that country. Italy, long priest-ridden, now has an independent 
government. The reaction against Romanism is strong. Protes- 
tantism has made substantial progress in Italy within the last gene- 
ration. 

d. In Great Britain. The seventeenth century in England 
brought in the reign of the Stuarts, whose extreme ideas of the 
divine right of kings resulted in civil war. The era of the Common- 
wealth saw the temporary triumph of Puritanism. Although the 
Church of England was reestablished in the latter half of the cen- 
tury, toleration was granted to dissenters, and the various dissenting 
bodies have since flourished. In the early part of the eighteenth 
century, an epoch of extreme skepticism and widespread immorality, 
the evangelical movement arose. The society of Methodists, formed 
first in Oxford University by John and Charles Wesley, grew into 
a movement of vast proportions, whose spirit and activity have 
wonderfully advanced the Kingdom, not only in England, but 
throughout the world, 



308 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

c. In America. It is a fact of profound significance that most of 
the colonists who sought a home in the New World were driven by 
the religious impulse. The Church of England became the estab- 
lished faith in Virginia, Maryland^ New Jersey, the Carolinas, and 
Georgia. Roman Catholic immigration was directed principally to 
Canada, Maryland, Florida, and Mexico ; but the missionaries of 
Catholicism penetrated into the far interior and made many con- 
verts among the Indians. Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Bap- 
tists, Quakers, Reformed, and Lutherans came in the early days 
and planted their churches. The conflicts of the Old World were 
transferred to the new, but religious freedom here had an oppor- 
tunity which it could not have in an older civilization. More and 
more the spirit of toleration prevailed until finally, after the Revo- 
lution, full liberty was given to all faiths. The Great Awakening 
began in 1735 and was led by Jonathan Edwards, and Whitefield, 
who had come over from England. Later, preceding the Revolution, 
the churches suffered serious decline. Hostility to the English was 
a hindrance to the labors of the Methodist preachers and evangelists 
whom Wesley sent over from England, but when national inde- 
pendence had been achieved Methodism became an aggressive spirit- 
ual force. Wesley perceived the necessity for an American Church 
and moved decisively in ordaining a general superintendent and 
elders for the work in the United States. The Methodist Episcopal 
Church was organized in 1784. Its phenomenal growth during the 
first quarter century of its life is to be largely attributed to the 
spiritual genius and remarkable activity of Francis Asbury. When 
he began his indomitable labors the Church had 316 members and 
four preachers ; when he died it had 214,000 members, 700 ordained 
ministers and 2,000 local preachers. The early history of Congre- 
gationalism was confined principally to New England. It has had 
a strong influence upon the nation. The Baptists were sorely per- 
secuted in colonial days, but they stood firmly for religious freedom. 
They have spread widely and have been for many decades a mighty 
religious force. The Presbyterian Church was planted in colonial 
soil in the earliest days of our national history. After the Revo- 
lution it spread rapidly to the west and to the south and has become 
one of the most numerous Protestant bodies. It has made an 
unrivaled record in educational work. The Disciples are among 
the youngest of the Churches, but they have had a remarkably rapid 
growth. The Lutheran Church obtained a foothold in colonial days 
and has received constant reenforcements by immigration from 
Germany and the Scandinavian countries, Besides the Churches 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 309 

named, which are the largest of the denominations numerically, 
there are many others in America, all of which doubtless have had 
some part in the progress and building of the kingdom of God, for 
which Christ established his Church in the world. 

II. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"O where are kings and empires now 
Of old that went and came? 
But, Lord, thy Church is praying yet, 
A thousand years the same. 

**We mark her goodly battlements, 
And her foundations strong; 
We hear within the solemn voice 
Of her unending song." 

— A. C. Coxe. 

I. Principal divisions in the history of the Church: (a) 
The Ancient Church; (b) The Mediaeval Church; (c) The 
Modern Church. 

' 2. Forerunners of the Reformation: John'Wiclif in Eng- 
land ; John Huss in Bohemia ; Savonarola in Italy. 

3. Leaders of the Reformation : In Germany, Martin 
Luther and Philip Melanchthon ; in Sv^itzerland and France, 
Zwingli and Calvin ; in Scotland, John Knox. 

III. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Why should Sunday school teachers know the history of the Church? 
What are the three divisions of the period of the Ancient Church? 
Tell what you can of the persecutions. 
When did the Church become predominantly Gentile? 
Describe the development of the Church in Alexandria. 
Tell of the growth of the Church in the West. 

What can you say of the triumph of the Church under Constantine? 
Give the principal facts stated concerning the theological controversies of the epoch. 
What is said of the Middle Ages as an epoch of transition? 
Describe the rise of the papacy. 

When did the Greek Catholic Church become separate? 

Why cannot the Protestant Reformation be considered a sudden movement? 
Name some forerunners of the Reformation and give the principal facts concern- 
ing each. 

Describe the Reformation in Germany. In England. In other lands. 

Tell what you can of modern church developments in Europe. In America. 

IV. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Birth of Methodism. 

W.H.C., Chap. II. 

2. The Founding of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

W.H.C., Chaps. V, VI. 
II. In the Library 

1. Early Christian Schools. 

Hurst, Short History of the Christian Church, Part I, Chap. XII. 

2. The German Reformation. 

Hurst, Short History, Part III, Chap. IV. 

3. Modern Church Development. 

Moncrief, Short History of the Christian Church, Book III, Chap. IV. 



3IO FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XLI 
THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF THE WORLD 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

Christianity is essentially a world religion. It aims at the trans- 
formation of human society, the permeation of all civilizations with 
Christian ideals, and the realization of the perfect rule of God every- 
where on earth. Surveying the broad sweep of Christian history, 
we discern three great outstanding missionary movements. We 
may consider these under the three principal divisions of the his- 
tory of the Church already familiar to us. 

I. MISSIONS IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

Missions in the ancient Church is but another name for church 
history, for apostolic Christianity was almost wholly a missionary 
enterprise. The faith was carried to the most remote provinces by 
artisans and tradesmen, as well as by preachers and teachers. The 
ideals and habits of life of Christians were in such sharp contrast 
to those of the heathen that the Christian everywhere was a 
marked man. Like his Master, he could not be hid. By personal 
influence and effort, wherever he went he propagated the new faith. 

2. MISSIONS IN THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH 

The second great missionary movement in the history of the 
Church began in the early Middle Ages and extended through sev- 
eral centuries. Under its influence the northern barbarians who 
had descended upon the Roman empire and overthrown it were 
converted to Christianity. The complete story of the work of 
evangelization done among them, if it could be written, would fill 
many volumes. The process of Christianization was necessarily a 
gradual one, but from the acceptance of the Christian faith by 
Clovis, king of the Franks, in 496, during five successive centuries 
there was gradual, certain advance. But during this time millions 
of pagan peoples were baptized on such easy terms that their reli- 
gion had neither spiritual vigor nor moral power. The barbarians 
were being evangelized but the Church was being paganized. The 
simplicity, purity, and power of apostolic Christianity had departed. 

3. MISSIONS IN THE MODERN CHURCH 

The leaders in the Protestant Reformation were not concerned 
with effort to Christianize the heathen world. Their immediate 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 311 

task of reformation of doctrine and practice, and the propagation 
of the faith in purified form, was so great that they were wholly 
occupied with it. It was not until Protestantism had become thor- 
oughly established that the third and most far-reaching missionary 
movement of Christian history took its rise. 

(i) The Beginnings of Modern Missions. The seventeenth 
century and the early part of the eighteenth were not entirely 
devoid of the missionary spirit. In spite of the general indifference 
to missionary obligation, and even pronounced opposition on the 
part of many of the religious leaders, there were certain significant 
developments. In the first j^ears of the eighteenth century a mission 
in India was established under the patronage of the king of Den- 
mark. At about this time the missionary spirit of the Moravians 
burst into flame, and from their center at Herrnhut, in Germany, 
they began their unparalleled missionary activity. From 1732 to 
1736 they established six mission stations in widely separated parts 
of the globe. Warneck says of Zinzendorf, the Moravian leader, 
"He is the first in modern times on whose heart lay day and night 
the desire that all ends of the earth might see the salvation of God." 
In 1736 John and Charles Wesley went to Georgia as missionaries 
to the Indians. The missionary spirit of the family is well ex- 
pressed in the words of Susannah Wesley, the mother, who de- 
clared: "Had I twenty sons, I should rejoice that they were all so 
employed, though I should never see them more." The stay of the 
Wesleys in Georgia was brief and their mission apparently a fail- 
ure, but within a few years after their return the evangelical revival, 
"that greatest effusion of the Spirit since Pentecost," in which the 
Wesleys and Whitefield were the principal leaders, had begun. 
For fifty years it grew in power and spread, renewing the spiritual 
life of the churches and everywhere kindling them into evangelistic 
activity. Finally it bore in upon a revitalized Church such a sense 
of its responsibility and obligation to carry the gospel to all the 
peoples of the earth as it had not had since the days of the apostles. 

a. The Example and Influence of William Carey. The 
apostle of the new era for missions was William Carey, oppressed 
by ill health and so burdened with poverty that he had to eke out 
his scanty salary as a pastor by teaching school and cobbling shoes. 
He worked at his cobbler's bench with his eyes upon a map of 
the world. He became the leader of a new apostolic band of twelve, 
a feeble company with a world vision. Out of their prayers and 
labors resulted a mission to India in 1794. The letters which Carey 
sent back to England proved to be the "little fire" necessary to 



312 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

kindle "a. great matter," for we presently behold immense meet- 
ings of people of all churches, money pouring forth in a wholly 
unprecedented manner, numerous missionary societies formed, and 
missionaries going forth into many parts of the earth. 

b. The Missionary Awakening in America. During the years 
of Carey's apostleship in Great Britain, widespread indifference to 
the missionary obligation prevailed in America. In the early years 
of the century the organization of a number of missionary societies 
and the founding of some periodicals devoted to missions gave evi- 
dence that missionary zeal was beginning to spread rapidly. In 
1810 the American Board for Foreign Missions was organized. In 
its first decade it sent out one hundred and ten missionaries and 
expended close to $200,000 — a wonderful work for those days. In 
1814 the Baptists formed a missionary society. In 1819 the Mission- 
ary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized, but 
not until 1833 was the first foreign missionary sent out under its 
auspices. This was Melville D. Cox, who after four months' labor 
fell a victim to African fever and died with the splendid challenge 
upon his lips, "Let a thousand fall before Africa be given up." 

(2) The Progress and Results of the Modern Movement. 
Progress at first was exceedingly slow. Hindrances were innu- 
merable and adversaries were many. The first five American mis- 
sionaries who went out to India in 1812 met with many dishearten- 
ing circumstances. Morrison, in China, denied the privilege of 
holding a public service, labored and prayed for twenty-seven years 
in order to win his first three converts. During the whole of the 
first half of the century the faith and zeal of the Church was put 
sorely to the test. But reenforcements in increasing numbers 
were being constantly sent out. Every decade marked advance in 
numbers, in resources, and in results. By 1885 a million converts 
had been gained. The second million were added in the twenty- 
three years from 1885 to 1908. The present increase is at the rate 
of a million converts in twelve years. But numbers alone do not 
tell the complete story. The last one hundred years has recorded 
greater progress in world evangelization than eighteen hundred 
years preceding. During this period missionary organizations have 
increased from less than a score to 994 in 1910. The force upon 
the foreign fields increased from a mere handful to an army of 
more than 16,000 missionary families and single missionaries. Mis- 
sionary contributions increased from less than $100,000 annually 
to more than $30,000,000 every year. The Christian Scriptures, 
available then in only 66 languages, have now been translated into 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 313 

more than 700 languages and dialects. Christian institutions in 
immense numbers — schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, orphan- 
ages, houses of refuge — have been established. Not least of all, 
tens of thousands of Christian homes have been created and a great 
army of native preachers, pastors, teachers, and Bible-readers has 
been enlisted, drilled and sent into service. The close of one hun- 
dred years of aggressive missionary effort sees Christianity "mov- 
ing out over the earth with ever enlarging agencies, with ever- 
increasing success, and with open and undiscouraged determination 
to win the world." 

(3) The Missionary Task of the Twentieth Century. It is not 
for a moment to be imagined that the Christian conquest of the 
world is close at hand. Barely a beginning has been made. The 
Edinburgh Conference Report states that there are yet 119 million 
people in Asia and Africa alone not included in the plans of any 
missionary society. Tens of millions more included in plans of 
missionary organizations are not being reached by the Gospel be- 
cause these societies do not have sufficient resources to carry out 
the projects to which they are committed. Our task is more than 
that of heralding the message to those who have never heard it; 
the Christianization of the world requires the application of the 
principles of the Gospel to the total life of all men everywhere, at 
home and abroad. In significance, in extent, in difficulty of execu- 
tion, it is the greatest enterprise to which any body of people have 
ever committed themselves in the history of the world. 

4. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AND MISSIONS 

(i) Possible Service to the Missionary Cause. The possible 
service of the Sunday school to the missionary cause has never 
been fully realized by the Church. The primary need is for a 
broader intelligence on the subject of Christian missions, an under- 
standing and appreciation of the missionary motive and obligation, 
a knowledge of the awful need of the non-Christian world, and 
an acquaintanceship with the wonderful story of the achieve- 
ments of modern missions. The Sunday school has a membership 
surpassing in size that of the Church itself; it is the Church's 
agency for instruction; the majority of its members are of the age 
at which missionary teaching makes the most effective and lasting 
appeal. If it be true that "the heart of the problem of evangelizing 
the world lies in enlisting the youth in the enterprise," certainly 
the possible service of the Sunday school is immeasurable. 

(2) Organization for Missionary Instruction. Different de- 



314 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

nominations have various plans for organization within the school 
to insure missionary instruction and activity. The simplest provi- 
sion is for a Missionary Committee. It is not intended that this 
committee shall do the work of missionary- instruction. Its function 
is, rather, to stimulate interest on the part of the officers and teach- 
ers and provide assistance and counsel in giving missionary teach- 
ing and activity its proper place. The Methodist Episcopal Church 
has authorized the organization of a missionary society within every 
Sunday school, to include in its membership all officers and mem- 
bers of the school. The officers constitute a Board of Managers, 
virtually a Missionary Committee. The object in any case is not 
to add a new department, coordinate with other departments of 
the school, but, rather, to insure by definitely locating the responsi- 
bility, that there be those who will see that missionary teaching is 
given through the regular teaching agencies. 

(3) The Teaching of Missions in the Sunday School. Mis- 
sionary instruction has been sadly neglected in the past. Within 
a few years there has been a notable increase of it, but for the 
most part this has been accomplished outside of the regular channels 
of the Church's teaching activity. The teaching of missions re- 
quires neither special methods nor extraordinary devices. It will 
be most effectively accomplished by articulation into the regular 
plans and processes of religious education. It is a decided gain 
when missionary lessons are included as an integral part of courses, 
as in the Graded Courses. Much better than all special devices 
and schemes is the principle that the missionary spirit pervade all 
the plans, exercises, and activities of the school. Thus missionary 
influence and teaching becomes a primary element in the religious 
education for which the school exists. In quiet, tactful, unobtru- 
sive ways the Missionary Committee can help to bring this about. 
Hymns may be selected for memorization in which the universal 
rule of God and his Fatherly love for all men are emphasized ; 
others may be chosen which teach the worldwide sweep of his 
Kingdom, the benefits of Christ's death which accrue to men every- 
where, and the brotherhood of all men in him. The work of the 
Church in foreign lands may be made the subject of prayer, and 
missionaries may be remembered by name. A brief, interesting 
missionary program presented monthly, if properly prepared for, 
has much educational value. Missionary giving not only provides 
money for the cause, but may also be made to interest the giver in 
missions and to develop his altruistic and benevolent impulses. At 
least one offering a month should be devoted wholly to missions. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 315 

11. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

Considering again the Sunday school which you know 
best : 

I. What provision is made for missionary instruction 
and activities? What additional effort should be made? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Some pioneers of modern missions: John Eliot, Zin- 
zendorf, John Wesley, William Carey, Samuel J. Mills, 
Melville D. Cox. 

2. Possible service of the Sunday school to the missionary 
cause: (a) Increase of missionary intelligence; (b) En- 
listment of youth. 

3. Requirements for effective missionary instruction: (a) 
Missionary lessons included in regular courses ; (b) All 
plans and activities pervaded by the missionary spirit; (c) 
Occasional special missionary programs. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Why must Christianity be considered a world religion? 

What can you say of missions in the ancient Church? 

State some of the missionary achievements of mediaeval times. 

What reasons ca.n be given for the lack of missionary zeal on the part of the early 
Protestant leaders? 

Trace as fully as you can the beginnings of modem missions. 

Give account of the work of William Carey. Of the missionary awakening in 
America. 

Tell of the progress of the modem missionary movement. 

Describe the missionary task of the twentieth century. 

In what ways may the Sunday school serve the missionary cause? 

Give the most important suggestions on organization for missionary instruction. 

What is the most effective way of teaching missions in the Sunday school? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

I. Missions in the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
W.H.C. Chap. XI. 
II. In the Library 

1. The Widening Sovereignty of Christ. 

Doughty, The Call of the World, Chap. I, 

2. The New Era in World Missions. 

Eddy, The New Era in Asia, Chap. VIII. 

3. Possibilities of the Present Situation. 

Mott, The Decisive Hour of Christian Missions, Chap. VIII. 



3i6 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XLII 

EARLY RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND THE RISE OF 
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

L LESSON STATEMENT 

The Sunday school as we are famihar with it is a very modern 
institution, but the importance of the work it is called to do has 
been recognized from earliest times. 

I. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN ISRAEL 
(i) The Home Life. The religious training of children was 
esteemed highly important among the Israelites. The Deuteronomic 
law made the religious instruction of children in the home a first 
duty: "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and 
in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they 
may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them 
your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, 
and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and 
when thou risest up" (Deut. ii. i8, 19; see also 5. 6, 7). 

(2) The Synagogue. In the latter part of the Persian Age 
(see pp. 58, 59) the scribes came into prominence, and with them 
there came to be an organized body of teachers. A new institution, 
the synagogue, was established. This spread rapidly until every 
town of any size had its synagogue. Its principal object was reli- 
gious instruction. Philo, indeed, refers to the synagogues as 
"houses of instruction." Provision was made both for adults and 
for children. Services were held on the Sabbath and on Monday 
and Thursday, but there were school sessions for children every day. 

2. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE ANCIENT AND IN THE 
MEDIAEVAL CHURCH 

(i) Jesus as a Teacher. It is well to remind ourselves that the 
Master was a teacher. He accepted the title, and in the Gospels he 
is thus addressed more often than by any other title. He is repre- 
sented as "teaching in the synagogues" (Matt. 9. 35), as well as 
preaching. He devoted much of his time to teaching his disciples, 
and at the close of his ministry he commanded them to "Go . . . 
teach all nations, . . . teaching them to observe all things whatso- 
ever I have commanded you, ..." (Matt. 28. 19, 20). 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 317 

(2) Teaching in the Apostolic Church. In the apostolic Church 
much dependence was placed upon teaching. It was made a chief 
agency for the extension of Christianity (see Acts 4. i, 2; 5. 21, 28). 
The apostles followed Jesus' example in gathering around them 
circles of disciples, young men whom they taught, and trained to 
propagate the gospel. The teacher had an honorable place among 
the chief workers of the Church (Acts 13. i; i Cor. 12. 28). One 
of the early charges made against the Christians was that they 
extended their religion by "luring" children into their religious 
schools. 

(3) The Catechetical Schools. During the first three centuries 
a system of religious instruction was gradually developed. Schools 
were organized in which both children and adults were systemati- 
cally instructed. There was a definite course of instruction, divided 
into four grades and required as a preparation for church mem- 
bership. It included, in addition to the Bible, the study of Christian 
doctrines and Jewish history and customs. The best known of 
these schools was at Alexandria. 

(4) The Situation in the Mediaeval Church. During the long 
stretch of the Middle Ages popular education was much neglected. 
Education was in the hands of the Church, and all schools were 
Church schools. For the most part they were connected with the 
monasteries. There was no general system of education. It was 
regarded as chiefly essential for monks and priests, and its con- 
tent was almost wholly doctrinal. Later, schools grew up in con- 
nection with churches, especially cathedral churches ; some became 
large and were widely known, others were small. The Netherlands, 
of all countries, made the nearest approach to popular education. 
In Italy, Borromeo, cardinal and archbishop, promoted Sunday 
schools in the churches. At his death, in 1584, more than seven 
hundred had been established with forty thousand pupils enrolled. 

3. THE INFLUENCE OF THE REFORMATION 

(i) The Work of Luther in Germany. Early in his career as 
a reformer Luther perceived that if the Reformation was to be 
permanent, attention must be directed to the religious instruction 
of the young. He translated the Bible into German and then pro- 
ceeded to prepare catechisms and hymn books. He urged upon 
the rulers of the nation the necessity of schools for the young, and 
many were established. They were schools of religious instruction. 
The first German primer contained the Ten Commandments, the 
Creed, and the Lord's Prayer, 



3i8 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

(2) The Reformation in Other Lands. Wherever the Reforma- 
tion spread, schools were founded. A mighty movement in behalf 
of enlightenment was abroad, and the Reformation imparted to it 
the sanction of religion and the added stimulus of the religious 
impulse. The reformers without exception were religious educators. 
John Calvin prepared catechisms in French and Latin. John 
Knox did a work for religious education in Scotland comparable to 
that of Luther in Germany. 

(3) The Schools of the Jesuits. It was clear if the teachings 
of Protestantism were inculcated in the minds of the children of 
Germany, Catholicism had no hope of the future. The Jesuits pro- 
ceeded to found schools everywhere and control them, teaching in 
them the doctrines of the Roman Church. They attained to a fine 
skill as teachers, even improving upon the work of Luther, and the 
schools of the Jesuits became famous to such an extent that even 
the sons of Protestants were sent to them. 

4. THE RAIKES MOVEMENT 

In the course of time the Protestant emphasis upon the religious 
instruction of the 3^oung was largely lost. Graduall}^ also teaching 
methods degenerated. That which had been effective education be- 
came merely mechanical memorization of answers to rote questions. 
The schools which had been established, more especially in England, 
became closed to all save the children of the privileged classes. 
By the close of the seventeenth century popular education was 
almost unknown in England. 

(i) Robert Raikes and His Ragged Schools. Robert Raikes, 
a citizen of Gloucester and the editor of The Gloucester Journal, 
a man of some learning and of broad sympathies, established in 
1780 what he described as "schools for ragged children." The chil- 
dren of the poor were employed on six days of the week, but on 
Sunday they were allowed to run wild upon the streets. Raikes 
adopted the plan of gathering them into schools on Sunday for 
instruction in reading, writing, and the elementary truths of reli- 
gion. They came at ten and stayed until twelve. At one they 
returned, later were taken to church service, again returned for 
school, and finally at five o'clock were dismissed. After thoroughly 
testing this plan Mr. Raikes gave it wide publicity. He was not 
the first to organize a Sunday school, but his successful efforts and 
the wide attention which he attracted to the work by giving it 
publicity, entitle him to be regarded as the founder of the modern 
Sunday school. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 319 

5. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN AMERICA 
(i) Early Education in America. With the Puritans the reh- 
gious purpose was dominant in all education. The early schools 
of New England were religious schools. The New England Primer, 
which was in use for one hundred and fifty years, contained the 
Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, readings based upon the 
Bible, and the Catechism. The need for Sunday schools therefore 
was not felt. Sunday was given over almost wholly to worship 
and sermons ; yet, in some places, children's classes were etablished. 
The Plymouth Church in 1680 passed this motion : "That deacons 
be requested to assist the minister in teaching the children during 
the intermission on the Sabbath." At least in a few instances 
Sunday schools were organized. In the meantime a process of 
elimination of the religious element in week-day institutions had 
begun. 

(2) The Rise of Sunday Schools in America. For decades 
preceding the Revolution the growth of religious institutions had 
not kept pace with the spread of population. With national inde- 
pendence came the recognition on the part of many of need for 
special attention to the religious nurture of the young. It is a 
noteworthy fact that the first Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, published in 1784, contained this provision: "Where there 
are ten children whose parents are in the society, meet them at 
least one hour every week." Bishop Asbury organized a Sunday 
school in 1786 at one of his preaching places, the home of Thomas 
Crenshaw in Hanover County, Virginia. The Methodist General 
Conference of 1790 gave the first official denominational recognition 
to the organization of Sunday schools. It ordered that Sunday 
schools should be established "in or near the place of worship. 
Let persons be appointed by the bishops, deacons, or preachers to 
teach gratis all who will attend and have capacity to learn, from six 
o'clock in the morning till ten, and from two o'clock in the after- 
noon till six, when it does not interfere with public worship." 
From this time on Sunday schools increased rapidly throughout the 
United States. In theory at least the Sunday school was adopted as 
the church school. This has been the most important factor in the 
development of the Sunday school in the United States. 

(3) Sunday School Organizations. Organizations for the 
purpose of fostering Sunday school work were established 
early. 

a. The First Day Society. The first of these, the First Day, or 
Sunday School Society, was formed in Philadelphia in 1791. 



320 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

b. The American Sunday School Union. This organization 
was formed in 1824 by the merger of several local organizations. 
It has been active throughout its existence in the publication of 
books and lesson supplies and in the organization of schools. 

c. Denominational Boards. The Methodist Episcopal Church 
was the first to form a denominational Sunday school organization. 
The General Conference of 1824 gave renewed emphasis to Sunday 
school work by ordering that: (i) the itinerant preachers should 
establish schools; (2) catechisms should be taught in them; (3) 
other suitable lesson material should be provided. Following this 
action, in 1827, The Sunday School Union of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church was organized. It continued its work until 1904. 
In 1908 The Board of Sunday Schools was organized and engaged 
in aggressive activity along educational, extension, and missionary 
lines. It has grown in resources and power with wonderful rapidity. 
In a number of the large denominations the Sunday school inter- 
ests are cared for under the general denominational publishing 
organization. This is the case in the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South. The Congregational Sunday School and Publication Society 
began its work in 1832. It is rendering exceptional service, espe- 
cially along educational lines. The American Baptist Publication 
Society, organized in 1840, the outgrowth of an earlier organization, 
is strong and active in service to the Sunday school cause. The 
Southern Baptists have a well organized Sunday School Board. 
The Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work 
has long been a strong organization and in recent years it has 
given increasing attention to Sunday school extension and develop- 
ment. The Disciples have a National Bible School secretary, who 
works under the auspices of the American Christian Missionary 
Society of that church. 

d. The International Sunday School Association and Other 
Interdenominational Organizations. The early history of this 
organization is contained in a series of conventions held at inter- 
vals from 1832 on. In 1906 the name International Association was 
adopted. For some time previously, however, the activities had 
been broadening. It carries on an extensive work through its gen- 
eral office and departments. In many of the States there are State 
Sunday School Associations. Some of these are strong and well 
established ; others are younger and less aggressive. In a measure 
they may be regarded as auxiliary to the International Association. 
The World's Sunday School Association grew out of a series of 
conventions. It is a missionary organization. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 321 

II. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"God bless the men and women of noble brain and heart, 
Who go down in the folk-swamps and take the children's part." 

— IVill Carleton. 

1. Principal Institutions of Religious Training in Israel: 
The home and the synagogue. 

2. Religious Education in the ancient Church : Jesus was 
a teacher ; teaching was a chief agency in the extension of 
Christianity; catechetical schools were founded and long 
maintained. 

3. The influence of the Reformation : Much importance 
was attached to the religious instruction of the young ; 
schools were everywhere founded. 

4. The Raikes Movement : Ragged Schools established 
in 1780; gradually developed into our modern Sunday 
school. 

5. The Sunday School in America — chief facts: All 
early New England schools were religious schools ; day 
schools gradually became secular ; the growth of population 
and decline of religion made a new institution necessary; 
Sunday schools established and given recognition in the 
latter part of the eighteenth century ; immediate and rapid 
growth followed ; various Sunday school organizations were 
founded. (Learn the facts concerning the Sunday school 
organization of your own denomination.) 

III. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What importance was attached to the religious training of children in Israel? 

Tell of the provision for religious instruction through the synagogue. 

What place did Jesus give to teaching? 

What can you say of teaching in the apostolic Church? 

What were the catechetical schools? 

Describe the situation in the mediaeval Church. 

Tell of the work of Luther. Of the influence of the Reformation in other lands. 

What were the schools of the Jesuits? 

What was the situation when Raikes began his work? Describe his work. 

Tell of the development of Sunday schools in England since Raikes's day. 

Characterize early education in America. 

What was the religious situation at the close of the Revolution? 

Tell all you can of the beginnings of Sunday school work in the United States. 

Tell something of the work of the most important Sunday school organizations. 

IV. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

I. The Rise and Growth of the Sunday School Movement. 
S.W.H.W. pp. 22-26. 
II. In the Library 

1. Religious Education in the Early Christian Church. 

Cope, The Evolution of the Sunday School, Chap. II. 

2. The Modern Revival and Expansion of the Sunday School. 

Trumbull, Yale Lectures on the Sunday School, Chap. III. 



822 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

CHAPTER XLIII 

SUNDAY SCHOOL ORGANIZATION AND 
ADMINISTRATION 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

One pupil and one teacher may constitute a very effective Sun- 
day school ; and if there be no more than one pupil and one teacher, 
an organization is superfluous. But since we usually have in the 
school many pupils of varying ages and needs, there must be a 
school organization. When there are few pupils and few teachers 
very simple organization will suffice. If the school is large, the 
requirements of organization are correspondingly increased. 

The school exists for the sake of the pupil. In its organization 
and administration, therefore, as in the selection of teachers, the 
choice of lessons, and the valuation of principles and methods, we 
will have the pupil ever in mind. (See pp. xiii-xv.) A fatal mis- 
take is made if we retire to the study or the committee room to 
shape paper plans of organization. We must build our organisa- 
tion around our pupils. There is but one 'sufficient and safe rule 
to follow both in organization and in administration : Plans and 
principles are to he determined by the needs of the pupils. 

I. PLAN OF ORGANIZATION 

(i) Grades and Classes. Beginning with the pupils whom we 
have, the first step is to group together those of like capacities, 
interests, and spiritual needs into a single grade. In determining 
these we cannot do better than to follow the indication of age and 
the public school grade. The pupils of each grade should be sub- 
divided into classes. Although it is not desirable to do so, it is, of 
course, necessary in the school which has only a few pupils to com- 
bine two or perhaps even more grades into a single class. 

(2) Departments. Inasmuch as there are certain clearly marked 
periods, and each period has its common needs, the grades should 
be grouped together into departments corresponding to the periods 
of childhood, youth, and maturity. (See p. 173!) In every case 
where there are two or more classes the department should be 
organized with a department superintendent and such other officers 
as may be found desirable. If necessary, one of the teachers of the 
department may be designated as superintendent, although if there 
are several classes it is better to have one who is free to give the 
entire time to the duties of the superintendency. The small school 
may have at least an elementary superintendent, who will supervise 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 323 

the Beginners', Primary, and Junior classes, and an advanced 
superintendent, who will have supervision of the Intermediate, 
Senior, and Adult Classes. 

In order to provide for its perpetuation and the realization of 
high ideals as a school there should be a Teacher Training Depart- 
ment. In order to minister to the whole community, and to fully 
cooperate with the home, there should be a Cradle Roll Depart- 
ment and a Home Department. 

(3) General Officers and Committees. That all of the depart- 
ments may be unified, and all together form a complete whole, it 
is necessary to have a general organization with certain general 
officers. These are the superintendent, assistant superintendent, 
secretary, secretary of classification, treasurer, librarian, organist, 
and chorister. To insure adequate provision for missionary instruc- 
tion, activities, and offerings, the school should be organized as a 
Missionary Society. Certain general committees are also thought 
to be desirable, as the Committee on Sunday Schools, Committee 
on Sunday School Evangelism, and Committee on Temperance. 

Representing in graphic form the result at which we have now 
arrived we have the plan of organization shown on the following 
page. 

2. ADMINISTRATION 

(i) The School's Officers and Their Duties. Provision should 
be made for every important function of the school by charging 
some person with responsibility for it. It should be borne in 
mind constantly, however, that much of the work of the school 
can be done best by the teacher. Unnecessary officers are a burden 
rather than a help. To appoint officers to do that for which the 
teacher is really responsible is to impair the school's efficiency. 

a. Pastor. Since the school is a part of the church, the pastor 
of the church is pastor of the school. He should be recognized as 
the spiritual head of the school. He is responsible for its well- 
being, and inasmuch as he must answer for it to the higher author- 
ities of the Church, he should be freely consulted on all important 
questions of policy and method, and his judgment should be re- 
spected. The teaching in the Sunday school is as much his concern 
as his own teaching from the pulpit, and he is not meeting his 
responsibility unless he gives attention to it. Some large churches 
now have a second minister in addition to the preacher and pastor, 
who is known as the educational director, or the Sunday school 
pastor, whose entire time is given to the supervision and direction 
of the educational work of the church. 



324 



FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

GENERAL OFFICERS AKD COMMITTEES 

Superintendent , Secretary 

Asst. Superintendent , Sec'y of Classification 

Treasurer , Librarian 

Organist , Chorister 

Sunday School Committee 

Committee on Evangelism . . . 

Committee on Temperance 

S. S. Missionary Society: Pres , V.-P , Sec'y , Treas. 



ELEMENTARY DIVISION 

CRADLE ROLL JUNIOR DEPARTMENT 

Superintendent Superintendent 

BEGINNERS' DEPARTMENT 
Superintendent 



TEACHER 



CLASS 
NO. AGE 

1 4 yrs 

2 5 " 

PRIMARY DEPARTMENT 

Superintendent ■ 

CLASS 
NO. AGE GRADE TEACHER 

1 6 yrs. I 

2 7 " 2 

3 8 " 3 



CLASS 
NO. 
I 
2 
3 

4 
S 
6 

7 



AGE 

9 yrs. (boys) 



(girls) 
(boys) 
(girls) 
(boys) 
(girls) 
(boys) 
(girls) 



GRADE 

4 
4 
5 
5 
6 
6 
7 
7 



SECONDARY DIVISION 

INTERMEDIATE DEPARTMENT SENIOR DEPARTMENT 
Superintendent Superintendent 



NO. 


AGE 


GRADE 


I 


13 yrs. (boys) 


8 


2 


13 " (girls) 


8 


3 


14 " (boys) 


lyr.H.S. 


4 


14 " (girls) 


I " " 


5 


IS " (boys) 


2 " " 


6 


IS " (girls) 


2 " " 


7 


i6 " (boys) 


3 " " 


8 


i6 " (girls) 


3 " " 



NO. 

I 
2 

3 

4 
5 
6 

7 



AGE GRADE TEACHER 

17 yrs. (boys) 4yr. H.S 



17 
i8 
i8 
19 
19 

20 
20 



(girls) 4 " 

(boys) 

(girls) 

(boys) 

(girls) 

(boys) 

(girls) 



TEACHER TRAINING 
DEPARTMENT 



Superintendent 

One or more classes of Senior age 
or beyond. 

TEACHER 



ADVANCED DIVISION 

ADULT DEPARTMENT 
Siiperintendent 



CLASS NO. 

I 

2 



Organized Classes. 

CLASS NO. TEACHER 

1 

2 

3 



HOME DEPARTMENT 
Superintendent 

Home Department 

Visitors. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 325 

b. Superintendent. The superintendent is the executive head of 
the Sunday school. He presides and directs in the general sessions 
of the school, gives attention to all details of management, and leads 
the school in carrying out its policies and realizing its purposes. 
He has general oversight of all the activities of the school, not 
attempting to do everything himself, but working through the 
departmental officers. 

c. Assistant Superintendent. This officer assists the superin- 
tendent in such specific ways as the superintendent suggests and 
takes charge of the school in the latter's absence. 

d. Department Superintendents. The office of department 
superintendent is a responsible and important one. The person 
selected should have both natural adaptation and special training 
for work with the period represented by the department. While 
he is under the general direction of the superintendent, he should 
have reasonable freedom within the department, and should be 
responsible not only for the worship, instruction, and activities, but 
also for strengthening and building up the department in every way. 
He will have immediate supervision of the teachers of the depart- 
ment, know all about their work, use his best efforts to improve 
it, and endeavor to stimulate and inspire all who work with him. 

e. Secretary. The secretary of the school keeps all the records. 
They should be complete, accurate, and neatly kept. They should 
include, not only the facts usuallv recorded — as number enrolled, 
attendance by departments and by classes each Sunday — but also 
complete data as to every member of the school. 

f. Secretary of Classification. In the graded school it is re- 
quired that careful attention be given to classification of pupils. 
Some schools have a secretary of classification, while others have a 
committee an classification. The duty pertaining to the office, what- 
ever name it may bear, is to see that every new pupil shall be prop- 
erly classified, that departmental lines shall be definitely drawn, and 
that promotions shall be made annually at a fixed time. Under no 
circumstances should pupils or teachers be allowed to bring new 
scholars into their classes without referring them to the proper 
officer for assignment. 

The grading of a school will not be well done if it is thought of as 
a mechanical matter. It should be realized that the pupils of the 
school are already graded; that is, they are at various stages of 
development. All that needs to be done is to discover and follow 
the lines of natural gradation. These will be usually indicated, as 
stated earlier in this chapter, by age and public school grade. It 



326 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

must be remembered that graded lessons presuppose a graded 
school, and it cannot be expected that they can be successfully used 
unless the school is accurately graded. 

g. Treasurer. This officer receives and disburses all funds from 
whatever source they come. He should pay out money only upon 
order, and should keep accurate accounts, file receipts for all ex- 
penditures, and make regular report to the Sunday School Board. 

h. Librarian. All the literature of the school, including hymn 
books and Bibles, as well as periodicals, lesson helps, and the 
library, should be in charge of the librarian. By informing himself 
thoroughly upon Sunday school publications, and especially upon 
the new and the best books on the various phases of Sunday school 
work, and by systematic efforts to have the books read by those 
whom they would help, the librarian can make his office one of much 
value to the school. 

i. Organist and Chorister. As training in worship in an impor- 
tant function of the school, and as the right kind of music is essen- 
tial, these officers have an important place, 

j. Ushers, The school should have ushers to welcome strangers 
and visitors, and to receive new pupils and conduct them to the 
secretary of classification. Ushers can do much to maintain order 
and at the same time impart to the school a spirit of genial hos- 
pitality. The doors should be kept closed during worship. In a 
large school two or three ushers should be designated as a Visitors' 
Committee, to conduct visitors to the various departments of the 
school and furnish them the information which they seek. 

(2) The School's Committees. In the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, the two committees first named below are required. Other 
committees may be created as local needs require, 

a. Committee on Sunday Schools. Through this committee the 
church expresses its cooperation with the pastor and the superin- 
tendent in efforts to secure suitable teachers, to promote and main- 
tain the authorized denominational standard of efficiency, to secure 
needed supplies, requisites, and equipment, and to provide facilities 
for the week-day recreational life of the young people. 

b. Committee on Sunday School Evangelism. The spiritual 
life of the school should be the especial care of this committee. It 
should see that proper opportunities are provided for the public 
acknowledgment of Christ by the pupils, and that all who are con- 
sciously living the Christian life are personally urged to unite with 
the Church. 

c. Committee on Temperance. This committee may be composed 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 327 

of the officers of the Sunday School Temperance Society, where 
such exists. It should see that temperance instruction is given 
in the school and that proper measures are taken toward pledging 
the young people and adults to total abstinence. 

(3) The School's Conferences. It is exceedingly important that 
there should be regular meetings of the Sunday School Board. The 
board is composed of the pastor, who is ex officio chairman, the 
superintendent, and all of the regularly elected officers and teachers 
of the school. It should have an annual business meeting for 
annual reports and elections. At this annual meeting the year's 
work should be taken under review, progress or decline should be 
noted, reasons assigned, and aims and plans for the ensuing year 
decided upon. In addition to the annual meeting, every school 
should have regular monthly business meetings, or if this seems 
for any reason impracticable, regular quarterly business meetings. 
Business meetings alone are not sufficient. Weekly, or at least 
monthly, a Workers' Conference should be held. This is essential 
for unity, mutual understanding, and cooperation between all, in 
the work of the school. Such a conference, rightly conducted, 
makes it possible for the school as represented by its officers, teach- 
ers, and committee to come into a clear conciousness of its aims and 
purposes, and the best means of realizing them. It creates interest 
and enthusiasm, disseminates knowledge, encourages those who have 
difficulties, and creates a school spirit. The program should be 
varied, but at every meeting some one topic vitally related to the 
welfare and success of the school should be adequately presented 
and discussed. The conference should not be allowed to degenerate 
into the old-fashioned formal teachers' meeting for the study of 
one lesson. 

In the large school, organized and administered by departments, 
Departmental Conferences may be held. In this case it will prob- 
ably be well for the Workers' Conference to hold a brief general 
session, then divide into Departmental Conferences. 

3. THE SCHOOL AND THE HOME 

Through two of its departments the Sunday school is carried 
directly to the home. These are : 

(i) The Cradle Roll Department. The Cradle Roll is for 
the enrollment of the babies not yet old enough for membership in 
the Beginners' Department. The Roll is usually hung in the Be- 
ginners' or Primary room. When, by consent of the parent, the 
baby's name is entered upon it, a certificate of enrollment should 



328 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

be sent, and thereafter the birthday of the little one should be 
remembered by a card of greeting and a visit by the Cradle Roll 
superintendent. 

(2) The Home Department. There are many adults who are 
unable to attend the Sunday school ; for them the Home Depart- 
ment has been provided. It has a special mission to the aged, to 
shut-ins, to mothers of little children, and to Sunday workers, but 
its membership should not be confined exclusively to these classes. 
A simple form of organization suffices. There should be a Home 
Department superintendent and a sufficient number of Department 
visitors to seek out all who can be enlisted, and to visit those who 
are enrolled as members at least once a quarter for religious con- 
versation, to furnish supplies and to receive their offering. Usu- 
ally, the work of the department has been confined to efiforts to 
secure the study of the International Uniform Lesson, but its mis- 
sion may be broadened and the extent of its influence largely 
increased by providing a variety of courses of study, and also 
reading courses as well. 

4. THE CHURCH AND THE SCHOOL 

The Sunday school, as we have seen, is the school of the Church 
(cf. p. xviii). The responsibility of the Church for the maintenance 
and complete and efficient supervision of its schools is not ^ess 
than that of the state for the public schools. 

(i) Public Recognition. The Church should give public recog- 
nition to the Sunday school at frequent intervals, in order that it 
may be identified with the Church in the public mind, and that the 
Church's concern for it may be understood. One excellent plan is 
for an Installation Service each year at a regular service of public 
worship, at which all the officers and teachers shall be installed 
and an appropriate sermon preached. At other times sermons and 
addresses should be given on appropriate subjects. 

(2) The School Equipped. The Church should provide an ade- 
quate equipment for Sunday school work. 

a. The School Building. Neither the one-room church, nor the 
great building in which everything centers about a magnificent 
auditorium, is adequate for school purposes. The time has come 
when the Church must cease crowding its children into damp, dark 
basements. Both their health and their spiritual interests are at 
stake. The child is influenced by his atmosphere and environment 
probably more than by words. He interprets words spoken to him 
by the things which he sees and feels. No wonder religion becomes 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 329 

unattractive to children who receive their only religious instruction 
in church cellars with bare floors, rough walls, broken furniture, 
and generally unkempt condition. If we would have religion seem 
beautiful, we must associate it with light and warmth and beauty. 

The ideal Sunday school building provides a separate assembly 
room for each department, and separate classrooms for secondary 
and adult classes. The favorite plan for many years with churches 
which have wished to provide generously for the Sunday school is 
the "Akron plan," one large assembly room with a semicircle of 
classrooms about it,, the whole opening by large sliding doors into 
a great auditorium. In a building of this type the entire school, 
with the possible exception of the Beginners' and Primary Depart- 
ments, must assemble together. It is therefore not adapted to 
modern ideals of Sunday school administration. 

Not a few churches have undertaken to provide up-to-date school 
buildings and many are looking forward to doing so. The funda- 
mental principle of separate assemblies can be fairly well worked 
out in an inexpensive building. Where a new building is practi- 
cable a few thousand dollars spent in remodeling, or building an 
addition, may greatly improve facilities. 

b. General Equipment. The physical condition of the school- 
rooms should receive attention and care. Lighting, heating, venti- 
lating, and decorating all are important. Equipment for depart- 
mental rooms has been treated in earlier chapters. 

c. Library. Provision should be made for the reading interests 
of children and adults. Where a public library is easily accessible 
it is possible that the most good may be accomplished through giv- 
ing attention to having the right kind of books placed in it, and 
through cooperation in circulating them. The librarian of the Sun- 
day school might compile a select list and announce titles from 
week to week. Where there is no public library the Sunday school 
should establish a library of its own. Books for every grade should 
be purchased and discrimination should be used in selecting them. 
There are good library lists in print. Information may be had by 
corresponding with your Sunday school headquarters. A teacher's 
reference library, as well as pupils' library, should be provided. 

(3) The Support of the School. The financial support of the 
school should be borne by the Church, Each year an appropriation 
should be made for the expense of the school as part of the 
regular budget. This enables the school to train its members in 
giving, both to the Church and to benevolent and philanthropic 
causes. 



330 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

Considering again the Sunday school which you know 
best, prepare a written statement : 

1. OutHne the present organization of the school in full, 
and indicate what changes would be required to make it 
conform to the plan suggested in the Lesson Statement. 

2. Describe the situation as respects grading. Inquire 
carefully into conditions. What changes, if any, would be 
required in order that the school might be well graded? 

3. Outline a program for a Workers' Conference for this 
school on the general subject, ''Sunday School Adminis- 
tration." 

IIL MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

I. Departments of the Graded Sunday School: a. Cradle 
Roll. b. Beginners' Department, c. Primary Department, 
d. Junior Department, e. Intermediate Department, f. 
Senior Department, g. Teacher Training Department, h. 
Adult Department, i. Home Department. (Review: Peri- 
ods of human life, Chap. XXIV, Memory Assignment 3.) 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

On what principle should we proceed in planning the organization of the Sunday 
school? 

In obedience to this principle what is the first step? 

Name the departments corresponding to the periods of human life. 

What general officers and committees is it necessary to have? 

State the principal duties of each officer of the school. 

What conferences should the school have? 

Estimate the value of the Cradle Roll Department. 

What are the possible values of the Home Department? 

Describe an ideal Sunday school building. 

How can the reading interests of our children be best provided for? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Graded Sunday School 

A.W.H.W. Introductory Chapter. 

2. The School Organized. 

S.H.W. Chap. IV. 

3. Department Management. 

S.H.W. Chap. V. 
II. In the Library 

1. How to Organize an Efficient Sunday School. 

Cope, Efficiency in the Sunday School, Chap. V. 

2. Supervising the Graded School. 

Meyer, The Graded Sunday School, Chaps. XV, XVI. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 331 



CHAPTER XLIV 
THE SCHOOL SESSION 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

The efficiency of the Sunday school will depend in no small 
degree upon the character of its regular weekly session. Its every 
detail is worthy of study. 

I. PLANNING THE SESSION 

The program of the session should be definitely planned that 
nothing may be left to accident nor performed impromptu. Every 
part should be carefully thought out. This does not mean that the 
superintendent should always use an entirely original program. 
Excellent programs are available in print. ^ 

In planning the program of the session the following governing 
principles should be kept in mind : 

(i) The Entire Session Should Be Educational. The whole 
session teaches in one way or another. It should be so planned 
that the influence of every part is of the highest order. Unless this 
is accomplished, the good effect of the lesson period may be entirely 
overcome and count for naught. 

(2) As Far as Possible the Session of Each Department 
Should Be Held Separately. That is, the school organized by 
departments should also assemble by departments, each having its 
own complete program. The program can be truly educational 
only as it is adapted to the interests and needs of all the pupils. 
The only possible way to so adapt it is to have a different program 
for each age period. A program prepared especially for young 
people in their early teens is unintelligible to Beginners and unsat- 
isfying to mature Christians. It should be borne in mind that the 
program is not merely something to which the pupil listens ; it must 
be of such a kind that he can express himself through it. Only as 
he does this is it significant and worthful to him. In the many 
schools in which for lack of suitable facilities one general assembly 
must be held, different parts of the program should be planned for 
pupils of the different ages. 

(3) Provision Should Be Made for Training in Worship. 



1 Such, for example, as those in the appendix to the Methodist Sunday School 
Hymnal. This book is an admirable collection of hymns for Sunday school use. 



Z32 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

The religious life seeks expression in worship. There is an instinc- 
tive tendency toward it, but in this, as in everything else pertaining 
to the moral and religious life, training is required. The best work 
can be done where the plan of the departments' meeting separ- 
ately makes it possible for the worship, as well as instruction, to 
be graded. In planning the program it must be borne in mind 
that the first part of the session is not merely to consist of "open- 
ing exercises," but is to be a real service of worship, in which 
every member of the school is given an opportunity to appropriately 
express the religious sentiments. This part of the session does 
not fulfill its function unless it affords training in all such expression. 
(4) The Class Session Should Be Made Central. The lesson 
period within the class is the heart of the school session. The 
greatest work of the school is that of the teacher with the class. 
Not infrequently Sunday school officers fail to realize this, and 
load the program down with singing, announcements, reports, 
and speeches, to such an extent that the class session becomes a 
minor part. This is a serious weakness. A minimum of thirty-five 
minutes should be allotted to the lesson period in the Junior and all 
higher grades, and this time should never be infringed upon. Inter- 
ruption of the teaching by officers for the distribution of literature, 
or for any other reason, should be strictly forbidden. 

2. THE SERVICE OF WORSHIP 

The service of worship is to be regarded as a distinct part of 
the session with a definite purpose. 

(i) General Requirements. There are certain requirements for 
effectiveness : 

a. Atmosphere. The spirit of the service must be right. To be 
attractive 'to young people it must be joyous and optimistic. To 
have value as worship it must be reverent, sincere, and spontaneous. 

b. Promptness. The service should begin promptly, never a 
minute late, and move forward without hesitation, break, or delay. 
All should understand that they are expected to be present on time, 
and entrance should not be permitted during worship. Tedious 
reports, the unnecessary roll call of officers and teachers, and unim- 
portant announcements should be eliminated. 

c. Order. Good order is imperative. A disorderly session teaches 
irreverence and lawlessness. Some Sunday schools are so disorderly 
that they are positively irreligious in their influence. Order de- 
pends, first of all, upon orderly administration. A superintendent 
who runs about, rushing here and there to attend to details which 



OF TEACHER TRAINING zz2 

should have been previously arranged, stimulates restlessness in 
the pupils. The incessant clanging of a bell is an invitation to 
noise; it is better to dispense with the bell altogether. Scolding 
and loud, harsh tones create disturbance instead of quelling it. 
Dignity, quiet insistence on order, the use of quiet music preceding 
the opening of the session, the procession of classes, each in its 
turn marching to music, will all help. 

(2) Principal Elements. Although they may be variously com- 
bined, the three elements of music, prayer, and Scripture reading 
should be present in every service. We consider each in turn : 

a. Music. The music should be both instrumental and vocal. 
A well-conducted orchestra is an excellent thing in a Sunday school. 
It affords a means of interesting boys and young men, cultivating 
their musical talent, and holding them in the school. A loud, 
boisterous orchestra is not conducive to the spirit of worship. The 
dance-a-jig music sometimes used is entirely out of place and should 
not be tolerated. The hymns should be selected by the superin- 
tendent and the chorister, in advance, and the numbers displayed in 
plain sight of all. In nothing else is there more need for discrimina- 
tion and good judgment. There are innumerable cheap, made-to- 
sell song books, filled with sentimental, meaningless ditties set to 
so-called popular music, the use of which cheapens and degrades 
the Sunday school. There is no value in getting all to sing if that 
which they sing is drivel. Contrary to the opinion of many, chil- 
dren and young people may readily be trained to appreciate and 
love the best hymns. If attention and effort be given to it by the 
superintendent and chorister, the entire school can be led to com- 
mit to memory many of the great hymns of our Christian faith, 
hymns which next to Scripture will be retained in memory through 
the years to refresh, strengthen, and enrich the religious life. 
Singing may thus be made one of the most effective means of reli- 
gious teaching. 

b. Prayer. The prayer should be simple and brief, adapted to 
the comprehension of all. In the different departments suitable 
.prayers should be committed to memory, some one of which should 
be repeated in unison each Sunday. In this way the entire school 
may be led to engage in prayer. 

c. Scripture Reading. A Scripture lesson should be used every 
Sunday and read responsively. The plan of reading may be varied 
by sometimes having the entire school read the response, sometimes 
designating first one class, then another, to read. Some Scripture 
should be repeated from memory at every session. 



334 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

(3) The Close. The closing part of the session should be very 
brief, in order that the pupil may go out with the impression of 
the lesson fresh in his mind. It may be best for each class to have 
its own dismissal. If the school is all together in one room, a brief 
prayer for blessing upon the truth taught and for guidance during 
the week, an appropriate hymn, a moment of silence, broken by the 
piano or the orchestra playing softly as a signal of dismissal, makes 
a fitting close. 

3. SOME PROBLEMS OF THE CLASS SESSION 

The teacher's work with the class has already received consider- 
ation. Certain general problems of class management require treat- 
ment here. 

(i) Order. Disorder among the pupils is often due to the 
spirit of the management and the atmosphere which prevails in t.hj 
school. As such, it can be remedied only by improving the admin- 
istration of the school. The problem of order in the class session 
is chiefly one of furnishing appropriate expressive activities. Where 
the teacher succeeds in providing something for each pupil to do, 
thus directing attention and effort, there is not likely to be much 
disorder. Not repression but expression is the secret. Little can 
be accomplished by commands or prohibitions. Pitting your will 
against the will of the pupil is simply an invitation to battle. A 
negative command often acts as a challenge to a' strong will. Scold- 
ing only makes a bad matter worse. Where there are pupils in a 
class who have become positively rude and unruly, much may be 
accomplished by enlisting the cooperation of certain members of 
the class by making them responsible as officers for order in the 
class session. Appeal may also be made to class pride. Finally, let 
the teacher invite the offending pupils, one by one, to the home, 
and after a good dinner and a genial, friendly time have a perfectly 
frank, heart-to-heart talk. Make the pupil feel that you believe in 
him, that your only interest is in aiding him to make the most of 
himself; and that he is preventing you from helping him as you would 
like. Friendliness, confidence, sympathy, and tact will win. 

(2) Punctuality. The importance of punctuality to success in 
life should be emphasized. Make the pupil feel that it is not a 
trivial thing to be late at any engagement. Ask reasons, and refuse 
to accept empty excuses. Make promptness a matter of class 
loyalty. If a pupil is persistently late, appeal to the parents, and, if 
necessary, have members of the class call for the delinquent. 

(3) Lesson Preparation. Make very clear what lesson prepara- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 335 

tion is to consist in. Assign specific tasks to the various pupils, 
keeping in mind their individual interests. Never fail to call for 
a report on assignments. Make much of what has been well done ; 
do not be afraid to be lavish in sincere praise of tasks well per- 
formed. Meet with the class occasionally on a week evening and 
show them how to study. See that the school provides the best 
in the way of pupils' books. Award honors to those who do the 
best work. If a pupil forgets his book twice in succession, send 
him after it. Make pupils and their parents feel that you take Sun- 
day school work seriously and expect them to do the same. Have a 
system of grades, as in day school, marking the pupils in attend- 
ance, punctuality, lesson preparation, deportment, and church at- 
tendance. Announce the grades quarterly and send the cards home 
for the parents to sign and return. 

4. SPECIAL DAYS 

There are certain special days which should be given recognition 
in the school's calendar, when the usual program of the session will 
be varied or possibly, on extraordinary occasions, entirely changed. 
As a rule, however, the regular class session should not be inter- 
fered with, the special program being confined entirely to the period 
of worship. The tendency to introduce too many special days 
should be resisted. Those which have a recognized place are : 

(i) The Sacred Festivals. These are Christmas and Easter. 
They should be appropriately celebrated in every school. (See p. 

350.) 

(2) Decision Day. (See pp. 350-352.) 

(3) Rally Day. One day in the year, preferably in the early 
fall, should be observed as Sunday School Rally Day. It should be 
so celebrated as to create renewed interest in all the work of the 
school and give a fresh start for the year ahead. On this day the 
school makes its annual ofifering to the general Sunday School 
Board. Prominence should be given to the work of the board in 
Sunday school extension and advancement throughout the world. 

(4) Promotion Day. It is necessary for every graded school to 
give careful attention to promotion. A special day may well be 
designated when pupils may be advanced and the occasion marked 
by appropriate exercises of recognition. Those who have credit- 
ably met the requirements should be promoted with honor, and in 
recognition should be awarded promotion certificates. Those who 
have not made a creditable record in their courses, but whose age 
requires that they be passed on to a higher grade, should be quietly 
transferred without recognition. 



336 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

Consider the session of some schgol which you have 
recently attended. Make a written statement in answer to 
the following: 

1. What evidence did the session give of having been 
planned ia advance ? 

2. Wherein could the service of worship have been 
strengthened ? 

3. What suggestions can you make concerning the music ? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. Governing Principles in Planning the Program: (a) 
The entire session should be educational; (b) As far as 
possible the session of each department should be held 
separately; (c) Provision should be made for training in 
worship; (d) The class session should be made central. 

2. General Requirements in the Service of Worship: (a) 
A right atmosphere; (b) Promptness; (c) Good order. 

3. Elements of the Service of Worship: (a) Music; (b) 
Prayer; (c) Scripture Reading. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What do you regard as the best time for the Sunday school session? 
Why should the program for the session be planned? 

State the principles which should govern in planning the program. Comment 
on each. 

What are the chief general requirements for an effective service of worship? 

Criticize the music of some Sunday school session you have attended. 

Why should good hymns be memorized? 

What suggestions can you make on Sunday school prayers? 

Give suggestions on Scripture reading in the session. 

Describe an eflfective close of a Sunday school session. 

Discuss the problem of order in the class session. 

What is to be said of the importance of punctuality? 

How may lesson preparation be secured? 

What special days should the Sunday school observe? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1, Program and Session. 

S.H.W. Chap. VII. 

2. Special Days. 

S.H.W. Chap. XVII. 
II. In the Library 

1. The purpose of worship in the Sunday school. 

Hartshorne, Worship in the Sunday School, Chap. IV. 

2. Sunday school music and worship. 

Cope, Efficiency in the Sunday School, Chap. XIII. 

3. Problems of order. 

Hughes, How to Keep Order. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 337 



CHAPTER XLV 

THE WEEK DAY WORK OF THE SCHOOL 

I. LESSON STATEMENT 

The Sunday school session is not the Sunday school. The child 
is growing every day and learning every day, and he needs such 
religious influence and guidance every day as the school can give 
only by being a seven-day institution. One of the most serious de- 
fects of the Sunday school of the past was in failing to make con- 
nection with the daily life and experience of the child. As a result 
the pupil too often came to regard religion as something limited in its 
application to one day of the week, without connection with every- 
day tasks and pleasures. Our emphasis is upon the truth that a 
healthy and completely spiritual life cannot be lived apart ; the 
spiritual interpenetrates, interprets, and gives meaning to all of 
life's duties and tasks. The Sunday school as an institution for 
spiritual ends must serve the whole life of the pupil. If its min- 
istry is confined to an hour of worship and- instruction on Sunday, 
leaving the physical and recreational needs of the child's nature to 
be supplied by other agencies, many of them irreligious, the chances 
are that its influence will be neutralized, often wholly overcome. 

I. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AND THE PHYSICAL LIFE 
(i) The Physical Basis of Character. In their zeal and other- 
worldliness religious teachers sometimes forget that the human life 
must be lived in a body of flesh. The saint must first of all be a 
man ; the body conditions the spirit. Health and strength of body 
are necessary to normal action of the mind. First training in mo- 
rality is a training in physical habits. If we are to have men of 
moral power, we will need to develop strong bodies in our children. 
The weak body masters and commands the mind; the strong body 
obeys. Those who are stunted and come to mature years weak in 
body, a ready prey to disease, are those from whose ranks the poor- 
houses, reformatories, and jails will be principally recruited. 

(2) The Duty of the Sunday School. Heretofore physical de- 
velopment and training has not been seriously considered a neces- 
sary part of religious education, but it is becoming increasingly 
clear that the Sunday school to adequately promote character-build- 
ing must take into account the physical basis of character. Every 



338 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

Sunday school should consider the needs of its situation and make 
a beginning toward meeting them. In some instances it will be dis- 
covered that other agencies, such as Christian Associations, play- 
grounds, and the public schools, provide adequate facilities. In 
such cases the Sunday school should cooperate with them that all 
the children and young people of the community may be ministered to. 

Usually, there is much need for a gymnasium in connection with 
the church building. By means of it, opportunity is afforded for 
immediate oversight of physical activities and for adequate pro- 
vision for games and physical training. The most meager quarters 
for a gymnasium are better than none, providing that proper atten- 
tion is paid to ventilation and sanitation. In many instances excel- 
lent work has been done in cramped quarters. The young people 
themselves can do much toward providing equipment. It is well 
for the school to have athletic teams, but this is not enough. Too 
often disproportionate attention is given to the few who compose 
the teams, to the neglect of the larger number who do not attain a 
place on them. Provision for athletic training and games is one of 
the most effective means of attracting and holding boys and men. 

The Sunday school must give instruction on the whole subject 
of the care of the body. Our pupils must be taught that the body 
is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Emphasis must be placed on Paul's 
exhortation to Timothy, "Be thou an example in purity." Unfor- 
tunately, many parents shun their responsibility for the instruction 
of the young in bodily hygiene and the functions of sex. Here, 
again, the Sunday school must come to the rescue of the child. The 
necessary instruction may be given partly in the class and partly in 
personal conversation. The teacher should seek guidance in some 
of the excellent tracts and booklets now available on the subject.^ 

2. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AND RECREATION 

(i) The Fundamental Significance of Play. Play is of larger 
significance than physical exercise. Play is activity for its own sake. 
It is instinctive and spontaneous. The healthy child, as the animal, 
craves play and cannot thrive without it. It promotes growth, pro- 
vides an outlet for superfluous energy, and is a principal means of 
self-education. Gulick has shown that the adult intelligence of any 
animal species is foreshadowed in the complexity of the play life 
of the young, and that the character of the play has a definite rela- 
tion to the life activities of the adult. Joseph Lee, the father of the 



1 Such as the publications of The Society of Social and Moral Prophylaxis, 66 W. 
Fortieth Street, New York city. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 339 

modern playground movement in America, has well said : "The 
thing that most needs to be understood about play is that it is not 
a luxury but a necessity; it is not something that a child likes to 
have; it is something that he must have if he is to grow up. It is 
more than an essential part of his education ; it is an essential part 
of the law of his growth, of the process by which he becomes a 
man." Recreation is essentially the play of the adult, and is as 
necessary to the adult as play is to the child. 

(2) The Moral and Religious Values of Play. Often the first 
moral distinction which becomes real to the child is that between 
fair and unfair play. The boy who may not have shown an entirely 
proper respect for the rights of property nor attained to uni- 
formly truthful statement, is pretty certain to have very decided 
opinions about another boy who cheats in play. This spontaneous 
moral distinction may be made the foundation for moral teaching 
which will be effective because it grows out of the boy's own expe- 
rience. In group games and team play, the child first learns to 
subordinate his personal interests to the general good. A sacrifice 
hit teaches a vital Christian principle more effectively than the 
repetition of an apostolic precept. Games afford excellent tutorage 
in self-control, as well as being one of the most effective means of 
making the body the ready servant of the will. The heartiness, 
enthusiasm, and abandon so valued as religious qualities are culti- 
vated in play. The physical organism stores up surplus energy. In 
the city, especially, where there is little work for children, play pro- 
vides about the only legitimate outlet for energy. 

(3) The Prevailing Situation. The Church at large has not yet 
fully awakened to the necessity of ministering through the Sunday 
school to the whole life. In many instances there is a willingness 
to allow the boys and girls and the young people to make use of 
certain designated rooms in the church, but no systematic plan of 
direction for meeting their physical and social needs. Too often 
the purpose in what is done is the shortsighted one of promoting 
the financial interests of the Church by social devices which have a 
fee attached. As a consequence, young people in large numbers 
turn away from the Church to become the victim of amusement 
mongers who have been allowed to commercialize recreation. As 
every observer knows, the street leading to the place of public 
recreation is often a straight pathway to dissipation and destruction. 

(4) Practical Suggestions. The Sunday school should have a 
carefully planned program of recreation. Occasional socials, lec- 
tures, and concerts at irregular intervals are not enough. The pro- 



340 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

gram should aim to provide for meeting all the needs of all the 
grades through all seasons of the year. Account should be taken 
of what is being done by organized classes and other organizations, 
and their plans supplemented where the need exists. While the 
church building should be made a social center, it is important also 
that the homes of Christian people should be often open to the 
young. The following, all of which have been successfully used, 
will be suggestive : Young people's social room in the church open 
one evening each week ; a reading and game room for boys and 
young men ; "happy Saturday evenings," with entertaining program ; 
interclass socials, banquets, musicales, literary meetings, illustrated 
lectures ; spelling contests between classes ; motion pictures, educa- 
tional films ; athletic league including several schools with schedule 
of games; school camps in summer; excursions to places of scenic, 
historical, or educational interest. 

3. THE SCHOOL TEACHING THROUGH DAILY SERVICE 

We have emphasized the fact that the teacher's work is complete 
only as he succeeds in securing expressional activities (See Chap. 
XXXIX.) But the whole responsibility cannot be placed upon the 
teacher. The school as an organisation should plan a comprehensive 
program of activities just as it should provide a comprehensive 
curriculum of religious instruction. It is quite as necessary that it 
should map out the things a Christian should do as to decide upon 
what he ought to know. The teacher working alone will find it 
very difficult to find sufficient suitable expressional activities. The 
first necessity is that the school as an organization shall ever keep 
before it the realization that it exists not for itself but for its 
pupils. The great reason for all its activities is not to build an 
institution, but, rather, to build the child and. the man. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

1. Considering again the Sunday school which you know 
best: To what extent is there a systematic plan for min- 
istering to the physical and the recreational needs of all the 
pupils? State just what the school is doing. 

2. What has been your observation of the results of the 
use of athletics and physical training in religious work? 
What notation should be made in explanation of the results 
in each case? (If you have not had opportunity to make 
such observation, talk with some Sunday school officer or 
Young Men's Christian Association worker who has had.) 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 34i 

3. Talk with a superintendent whose school (or with a 
teacher whose class) is successfully meeting the demand 
of young people for recreation and social life. Find out 
their reasons for making provision for recreation. 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"Let us not always say, 
'Spite of this flesh to-day 

I strove, made head, gained ground upon the whole!' 
As the bird wings and sings, 
Let us cry, 'All good things 

Are ours, nor soul helps flesh more, now, than flesh helps soul !' " 

— Robert Browning. 

1. That the whole life of the pupil may be ministered to, 
the Sunday school should (a) Take account of the physical 
basis of character; (b) Provide, or cooperate in making 
provision for physical development and training; (c) Make 
provision for meeting the recreational needs of children 
and young people; and (d) plan a comprehensive program 
of activities. 

2. The moral and religious values of play: (a) Often 
supplies first moral distinctions; (b) Teaches personal 
sacrifice for the good of all ; (c) Trains in self-control; (d) 
Develops heartiness and enthusiasm. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Why may the Sunday school_ not confine itself to the Sunday session? 
What is meant by "the physical basis of character"? 

What is the first duty of the Sunday school in regard to physical development 
and training? 

What is your judgment as to the importance of a Church gymnasium? 

What can you say as to the significance of play? 

What moral values of play have you realized in your own experience? 

To what extent are athletic games of service in winning and holding boys and men? 

What has been the attitude of the Church toward recreation and social life? 

What practical suggestions can you give? 

What is the responsibility of the school for teaching through daily service? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Problem of Recreation. 

I.W.H.W. Chap. XVIII. 

2. The Importance and Treatment of the Body. 

I.W.H.W. Chap. XIV. 
II. In the Library 

1. The Boy Problem in the Church. 

Forbush, The Boy Problem, Chap. VI. 

2. The Significance of Play. 

Kirkpatrick, Fundamentals of Child Study, Chap. IX. 

3. The Quest for Adventure. 

Addams, Youth and the City Streets, Chap. III. 



342 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 



CHAPTER XLVI 

RECRUITING AND BUILDING UP THE SCHOOL 

L LESSON STATEMENT 

As the one institution in our American life giving itself unquali- 
fiedly to the religious education of the child, the Sunday school has 
a duty to the whole of society. It bears a responsibility at least 
equal to that of the public school, and its possible service to the 
state is not less. The only way the responsibility may be met and 
the service rendered is through the enrollment of all children and 
young people in Sunday schools. The Sunday school is not for a 
few; it is for all, and every possible means must be used to bring 
all to it. Although remarkable increases in enrollment have been 
made in recent years, there are yet millions of children and young 
people in our country who are without the Sunday school. Many 
schools must be doubled in membership, many others trebled and 
quadrupled before they fully meet the requirements. 

I. POPULARIZING THE SCHOOL 

As Sunday school attendance m.ay not be compulsory, it is neces- 
sary that the school be made so popular that all will desire to attend 
it. The kind of popularity required is not a cheap and superficial 
sort, but that more abiding and permanent popularity which arises 
out of a recognition of real worth. Its program and services should 
be attractive because of high quality and their appeal to the best and 
noblest in human nature. 

(i) The Responsibility of the Church. There has been no such 
general recognition of the importance of the Sunday school as there 
should be. It has too often been lightly esteemed and slightingly 
spoken of by those who should hold It in highest regard. This is 
a situation which the Church can do much to remedy. Recognizing 
both the inestimable service of the Sunday school to the Church 
and the Kingdom, and that it is only through the school that the 
Church can fulfill the teaching ministry committed to it by its 
divine Lord, there should be such constant emphasis upon the 
importance and value of the school as will give it the place it 
deserves in the estimation of the general public. 

(2) The Responsibility of the School. The Sunday school 
must itself bear much of the responsibility for increasing its popu- 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 343 

larity. It can do this with certain effectiveness by increasing its 
efficiency. We have known some Sunday schools which were more 
popular than they really deserved to be. A Sunday school ineffi- 
cient in teaching, with cheap, ugly, or tawdry furnishings and equip- 
ment, whose music is on a par with the dance hall, and with a 
session marked chiefly by irreverence and disorder, does not deserve 
to be popular. There is no excuse for such conditions. A frontier 
school, meeting in a sod schoolhouse, may have excellent teaching, 
good music, and good order; the schoolroom may be neat, and the 
equipment, though limited, of good quality. 

2. RECRUITING THE SCHOOL 

No real Sunday school just happens. Its organization and its 
administration must be planned. The really efficient Sunday schools 
which we have, without exception, have been built up by busy 
men and women who have taken time from other duties to read, 
counsel, study, visit, labor, and pray in order to do an important 
work well. They have considered the Sunday school worthy of 
large investment of time, thought, and physical effort. They have 
given freely of themselves and they have succeeded in persuading 
others to give. The successful Sunday school is not a one-man 
institution. It is built up and maintained by the cooperation of 
pastor, superintendent, teachers, and pupils. It is not made in a 
week, nor in a single twelvemonth. It is the result of a process 
of growth extending through years. 

(i) School Spirit. The Sunday school should hold such a place 
in the affections of all its members that they will talk it up, wear 
its emblems, praise its work, and constantly invite others to its 
sessions. The development of school spirit depends upon the 
officers and teachers. It cannot be cultivated merely by exhor- 
tation. It will grow as the school enters into the life of the pupil, 
commands his interests, proves its care for his welfare, inspires 
and enthuses him. The spirit of loyalty and enthusiasm is conta- 
gious ; if the leaders possess it, it will be communicated to the pupils. 
If the leaders are discouraged and pessimistic, or critical and fault- 
finding, given to scolding, the pupils will share this spirit. If officers 
and teachers have high ideals and are cheerful and optimistic, if 
they take the pupils into their confidence and make them feel that 
they believe in them and rely upon them, using every possible oppor- 
tunity to give sincere praise, all will soon be found talking with 
pride of "our" school and working energetically for it. 

(2) Community Survey. Every Sunday school should define 



344 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

its field, and have on file the name and address of every person in 
its parish who is a possible candidate for membership. Once in 
every two years, at least, there should be a community canvass, or 
house-to-house visitation. Every family should be visited and the 
name of every member of every family recorded, with statement of 
church preference. It is well for the church to make an accurate 
map of its parish with all churches, schools, playgrounds, parks, 
saloons, and places of amusement indicated. 
(3) Methods of Recruiting Pupils. 

a. Systematic Follow-Up. The names should be apportioned to 
departments and classes according to age. The general superin- 
tendent, the secretary cooperating, should invite them, but he should 
make the department superintendents feel that chief responsibility 
rests upon them. They in turn should use all means in their power, 
especially enlisting the teachers and pupils in the effort. It is not 
enough that a general invitation be extended to all. Invitations 
must be personal and must be repeated. Invite by letter; if this 
does not have results, make a personal call. If this fails, have 
others call. Use the pupils in reaching those of their own age. 

b. Use Organized Classes. The organized class may be made a 
very effective means of increasing the membership of the school. 
One of the decided advantages of class organization is that it pro- 
vides through the membership committee for aggressive effort in 
recruiting new members. 

c. Advertise the School. The entire community may be made 
acquainted with the school and with its aims and purposes through 
the right kind of advertising. Window cards, folders, calendars, 
and the church bulletin may be effectively used. Whatever printed 
forms are circulated should be neat and attractive. Cheap, gaudy, 
unattractive printed matter is an advertisement of the wrong kind. 
The local newspapers afford a valuable means of advertising 
through announcements, contributions, and paid advertisements. 
They are of no value unless well prepared. 

d. Shall Contests Be Used? The best kind of growth is a 
steady, gradual increase through months and years resulting from 
earnest, aggressive, enterprising efforts. The school which is well 
organized and intelligently directed will not be obliged to fall back 
upon contest schemes for recruiting its membership. 

3. RETAINING THE PUPILS 

In many Sunday schools the most serious condition is the loss of 
pupils in later childhood, and especially in the early teens. In some 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 345 

schools from one fifth to two thirds of those in attendance during 
early childhood drop out during these years. This is of the utmost 
seriousness. It little avails to recruit pupils if they are held for a 
few years and lost when they need the Sunday school the most. 

(i) The Habit oi Regularity. It is important to set a high 
standard for attendance. Make the pupils feel that they are expected 
to be present every Sunday, and that absence is serious. Class 
honors should be provided for, attendance counting toward the 
award. Make it very clear that the pupil who is irregular lowers . 
the standing of the class, for thus the class as a whole becomes 
interested in the regular attendance of every member. When a 
pupil is absent he hears from his classmates as well as from the 
teacher. Reports should be regularly made to the parents both on 
attendance and on lesson preparation, as in the public schools. The 
report card should have space for the parent's signature. Attend- 
ance at another school, properly certified to, when pupils are away 
from home, should be given full credit. Regular attendance estab- 
lishes a habit and goes far toward attaching the pupil to the school. 

(2) Knowledge of Conditions and Causes. The records of the 
school should be kept with such accuracy and completeness as to 
show when each pupil enrolled, and in the case of those whose 
membership has been discontinued, when each left the school and 
what reason was assigned. The careful study of these data will 
reveal where the school is weak, and possibly point the way toward 
improvement. It will not do when the boy of thirteen or fifteen 
leaves the school to lay the blame entirely on him. It is almost 
certain that the school is at least somewhat lacking. Profit will 
come only through asking why the school has failed to hold him, 
and in planning to make such changes as will command his interest. 

(3) Following Up Absentees. No absence should go unnoticed. 
Within the first week there should be a note from the teacher, a 
telephone inquiry, or a personal call. Absence on two consecutive 
Sundays should receive attention from the- superintendent as well as 
from the teacher. Prompt action is very essential. A pupil retained 
in the school counts for as much as a new pupil gained. 

II. CONSTRUCTIVE TASK 

Review your observation and experience in Sunday school 
work. Prepare a written statement in answer to the fol- 
lowing : 

I. What methods known to you of recruiting new schol- 
ars have been most successful? 



346 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

2. What methods have been used in following up ab- 
sentees ? 

Seek those who have the most accurate information on 
conditions in your own community. 

3. What proportion of children and young people of 
school age are enrolled in Sunday schools? 

III. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

1. That the Sunday school may be established in popular 
esteem: (a) The Church should frequently declare its im- 
portance and value; (b) The school should increase its 
efficiency. 

2. Important Elements in Permanent Upbuilding: (a) 
School spirit; (b) Exact knowledge of the field; (c) Use 
of best methods of recruiting and retaining pupils. 

3. Methods of Recruiting Pupils: (a) Systematic visita- 
tion; (b) Organization of classes; (c) Good advertising. 

4. Methods of retaining pupils: (a) Develop the habit 
of regular attendance; (b) Discover causes of loss; (c) 
Follow up absentees. 

IV. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

Whom is the Sunday school for? 

Why is it important that the Sunday school should be popular? What kind of 
popularity is most desirable? 

What may the Church do to increase esteem for the Sunday school? 

What may the Sunday school itself do to increase its popularity? 

Name the primary essentials in the building up of an efficient Sunday school. 

Estimate the importance of school spirit. 

Should prizes and rewards be used in Sunday school work? 

What is the value of a community survey? 

Outline a good method of systematically following up a possible new pupil. 

What can you say of forms and values of Sunday school advertising? 

Give your views on the use of contests. 

What is to be said of the importance of regular attendance? 

In your own Sunday school has every pupil who has left the Sunday school within 
the last year been accounted for? 

What are the best methods of following up absentees? 

V. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and_ His Work Series 

1. On Advertising. 

A.W.H.W. Chap. XIX. 

2. The School's Upbuilding. 

S.H.W. Chap. XX. 
II. In the Library 

I. Ways of Reaching and Securing New Scholars. 

Mead, Modem Methods in Sunday School Work, Chap. XI. 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 347 



CHAPTER XLVII 
THE FINAL TEST 

We return in this closing chapter to the emphasis with which our 
study began. The supreme and final test of a good Sunday school 
is the personal test. The success of a Sunday school must be finally 
gauged by the answers given to such questions as these : Does 
the school hold its boys and girls and its young people? Does it 
make them avowed, loyal disciples of Jesus Christ, fitly representing 
him in character and conduct^ Does it lead them into the Church 
as earnest, faithful membersf Does it enlist them in active Chris- 
tian serviced 

In the administration of the school, as in the work of the 
teacher, it is exceedingly important that these preeminent spiritual 
aims be kept constantly in view. 

I. THE SCHOOL'S RELATION TO THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE PUPILS 

The major part of our discussion has had to do with the teacher's 
relation to the religious life of the pupil. But the school as such 
must also concern itself with the pupil's religious life. Many teach- 
ers, especially the younger and more inexperienced, will take their 
cue from the general management of the school, while all will be 
unconsciously influenced by its spirit and by the atmosphere of the 
session. In its administration the school should — 

(i) Supplement the Efforts of the Teacher. As represented 
by the moral and religious character of its officers, the school should 
make the pupils feel that it stands for what the teacher presents 
as ideals for them. The teacher's precept will have little influence 
if the conduct of the school's officers speaks a different message. 
Often a personal word from the superintendent, supplementing 
the teacher's appeal, or a call upon the pupil in his home with an 
earnest conversation, is the one thing needed to consummate a life 
decision or to lead the pupil to engage in the first bit of active 
Christian service. 

(2) Provide a Right Atmosphere. Bad ventilation, an uncom- 
fortable temperature, poor arrangement of classes, or an untidy and 
disorderly room increases the difficulty of efficient religious work on 
the part of the teacher. If when the pupils enter the schoolroom 
the officers are not present, or, being present, stand about the room 



348 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

in groups talking noisily; if the chairs are disarranged and prep- 
aration has yet to be made for the session, the teacher will have 
little chance to make an effective religious impression. More im- 
portant even than external conditio'us is the spiritual atmosphere. 
Anything in the nature of friction between the superintendent and 
other officers or teachers, or between the superintendent and the 
pastor is certain to exercise a subtle influence over the entire session 
and make effective religious work in the class practically impossible. 

(3) Recognize the Leadership of Jesus Christ. As we can 
hope to bring our pupils to the highest character only through per- 
sonal association with Jesus Christ, we must aid in making his 
presence real by recognizing him in the sessions of the school. It is 
not enough for the teacher to teach about Christ ; the school must 
present him, the Master Teacher and the Saviour, as a living 
Presence in the midst. If the officers of the school have a genuine 
and real dependence upon him, the pupils will the more readily be 
brought to recognize him m their own lives. 

(4) Exalt the Church. We have elsewhere emphasized the re- 
sponsibility of the Church for its school; it should also be realized 
that the school has a great responsibility to the Church. The school 
is not iself-sufificient. It is the school of the Church ; it cannot live 
apart. It fulfills its function only as it succeeds in making its 
members members of the Church. The Sunday school that does 
not lead its pupils to look beyond its own sessions, that fails in 
acquainting them with the Church as a divine institution, attach- 
ing them to it in bonds of affection and esteem and making them, 
feel that it is their high privilege to share its life, falls far short of 
its full duty. 

2. THE USE OF SPECIAL OCCASIONS 

The purpose of the Sunday school as we have presented it can 
be fulfilled only by meeting the spiritual needs of the pupil in each 
period of his developing life. Our reliance is not upon the occa- 
sional and the sporadic but upon the constant and regular. We 
believe that the work of the Holy Spirit is not confined to special 
occasions or to special experiences. His ways of approach to the 
human soul cover a wide range. His incoming and influence are 
through the normal and the constant, more than through the ab- 
normal and the unconstant. It was formerly very generally be- 
lieved that the surest evidences of the divine working were to be 
found in the sudden, the unaccountable, and the lawless. More 
recently it has come to be generally believed that our God is a God 
of law and of order. He manifests himself through his Spirit in 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 349 

orderly processes. The spiritual life of the child, in a religious 
atmosphere, with proper instruction and training, may be expected 
to develop even as the physical and the mental nature/ The Sunday 
school, relying as to method upon the evangelism of teaching, finds 
the most certain assurance of the divine approval of its work in the 
lives of its pupils who from year to year advance in wisdom as in 
age, "and in favor with God and men."^ 

In the case of those who thus respond to the processes of nurture, 
sudden, radical, revolutionary change is not to be required or ex- 
pected. But even with those whose experience is that of a gradual 
growth in the divine grace and favor through years there comes 
a time when, awakening to a new self-consciousness, it is necessary 
for the soul to make a full, free life decision for Christ and his 
service. The Sunday school should provide opportunities for an- 
nouncing decision and expressing in act the dedication of life. 
With not a few of those whose souls through all the years have 
faced Godward, constantly coming to a fuller realization of life in 
him, there come times of crisis, deep stirrings of heart, the need 
for profound decisions, the coming to birth, through travail, of new 
courses of action. The Sunday school should take account of these 
facts of experience and make provision for meeting the needs of 
these hours. I*n. an occasional special service the soul most constant 
in its loyalty and devotion may become more clearly conscious of 
his indwelling presence and more completely surrendered to his will. 
The needs of those who come into the Sunday school in later child- 
hood from non-Christian homes, not having had the benefit of re- 
ligious nurture during the years of early childhood, must not be 
overlooked. The child who through neglect and evil influence 
has become an alien should be made the subject of the most earnest, 
tender, persistent, tactful religious ministry, that he may be won 

1 Cf. Wright: "We believe that the ideal work of the Holy Spirit is done for the 
human spirit in normal development of the spirit of the child; that children may 
from birth be the children of the heavenly Father. . . . Our conception is well described 
by the phrase, 'birth from above.' The manner of it is not that of an instantaneous 
moral change, which evidently does not fit the childhood condition, but, rather, a 
spiritual incoming from a pressure as continuous as that of the atmosphere about 
us. . . . We hold that the Holy Spirit is an ever-present, ever-active influence upon 
the child nature. It must be admitted that divine methods in general are from ger- 
minal beginnings through unobservable increments to fullness of life. That it should 
be so in this spiritual birth from above should create no surprise" (The Moral Con- 
dition and Development of the Child, p. i8o). 

2 "What, then, is the type higher and better? ... It is the type which comes to light 
in the Christian household when the child of many prayers and of intelligent Chris- 
tian nurture yields to the drawings of the Holy Spirit so early and so sweetly as never 
in later life to know when it began to love God and to lead a life prayerful and Christian 
and of ever growing beauty and strength. ... It is the type which God, by his Holy 
Spirit, is evermore trying to actualize. ... If the Methodism of the future is to be 
equal to her providential call and mission in this respect, she must not permit the 
exponents of a catastrophic piety to hide her loftier and better ideal" (W. F. Warren). 



350 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

to the Saviour before he comes to the coldness and hardness of 
mature years. In view of these various considerations, it becomes 
clear that the Sunday school may wisely make use of certain special 
occasions when the regular order will be varied and other than the 
regular methods used. 

(i) The Great Religious Festivals. If properly observed, these 
may be made occasions of marked spiritual uplift. 

a. Christmas. All children look forward with keen expectancy 
to Christmas. The Sunday school should so observe it as to make 
it an occasion of holy joy to its pupils. The kind of celebration 
that gives central place to a buffoon, making Christmas eve a time 
of hilarity, and disassociating it with the birth of the Saviour, is 
more pagan than Christian, and is unworthy of any Sunday school. 
A service in the spirit of the great Christmas hymns of the Church 
is of almost inestimable religious value. 

b. Easter. The anniversary of the resurrection of Christ like- 
wise offers a special religious opportunity which should be taken 
advantage of. The joy and beauty of the occasion and the awaken- 
ing life of springtime present a wellnigh irresistible appeal to the 
heart of youth. The invitation to enter into fellowship with Christ 
in the overcoming life will not be lightly refused. 

(2) Decision Day. More and more generally Sunday schools 
once or twice a year observe Acknowledgment Day, or, as it is 
more commonly known, Decision Day. In manifold instances the 
day has been signally blessed. 

a. Advantages. By setting apart a special day the school calls 
the attention of the teachers to the importance of definitely com- 
mitting the pupils to a life of obedience and service to Jesus Christ. 
Many teachers need just such a spiritual stimulus. It should be 
realized that unless the teacher's spiritual life is inspired and en- 
riched, the observance of a special day will be comparatively profit- 
less in permanent results to the pupils. 

b. Preparation for the Day. Much will depend upon the day 
being chosen some weeks in advance and definite preparation made. 
The teachers should be urged to become acquainted with the spir- 
itual status of each pupil in their respective classes. The teacher 
should know who of the pupils in his class are members of the 
Church, who are living consciously as Christians, and who have 
never acknowledged Christ as their Saviour. Pupils and parents 
should be visited in the home that the home environment may be 
known. Sometimes it will be found that the first essential is to 
win the father or mother to the Christian life. In some cases it 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 3Si 

will be almost useless to lead a boy or a girl to a religious profession 
unless the parent's attitude is changed. Herein is suggested the 
basis for one of the most effective appeals it is possible to make to 
a parent. They are few who if they are fearlessly, lovingly told 
they stand in the way of a child will refuse to change. Meetings 
of the officers and teachers for prayer and counsel are very desir- 
able. The officers of organized classes should be included. In 
addition to such a meeting, held weekly, teachers should be urged 
to remember each pupil in daily prayer. A series of brief, pointed 
talks to the school may well be arranged for, such subjects receiving 
treatment as: "What is it to be a Christian?" "How may one be- 
come a Christian?" "The duties of a Christian to God; to the 
Church; to his fellows." These talks should be simple and prac- 
tical, designed to clear up misconceptions concerning the Christian 
life, and appealing to the heroic in the minds of young people as 
well as their desire to be of service. As the time draws near oppor- 
tunity should be given to the pupils for personal interviews with the 
pastor. It should be made easy for the pupil to consult with both 
teacher and pastor. In such an interview the way may open for a 
personal appeal of a kind impossible to make in a group meeting. 
Under these circumstances the alternative is presented to the indi- 
vidual and the decision made is certain to be his own. Every per- 
son has his own problems; in an open, frank conversation they are 
likely to be presented and given consideration, and a decision made 
in the light of all the circumstances, whereas a pupil who participates 
in a group movement may often proceed in the dark. The aid of 
those members of Intermediate and Senior Classes who are Chris- 
tians should be enlisted in bringing their classmates to confess 
allegiance to Christ. Every group of young people has its leaders. 
This fact must be taken into account and made the most of. 

c. Program of the Service. The service may occupy the entire 
hour of the school session or may follow a brief lesson period. In 
either event the program should be carefully arranged beforehand. 
If at all possible, let separate services be held in each department 
from the Junior up. The Beginner's and Primary pupils should not 
be included. 

The appeal may best be In terms of personal relationship to Jesus 
Christ. It is not well to present the step as the absolute beginning 
of the Christian life or so as to discount in any way the teaching 
of years preceding and the inner response of the pupils to that 
teaching. Very definite decision may be required, and this may 
be followed by an equally definite religious experience, but even so, 



352 FIRST STANDARD MANUAL 

this cannot truly be said to be the beginning of the pupil's religious 
life, and it is not desirable that he be made to think that it is. The 
claims of the Master upon every life for obedience, devotion, and 
service should be briefly, pointedly stated, as well as what he offers 
of grace, strength, and friendship. Intermediate and Senior pupils 
should be told in a straightforward way that they have come to a 
time in life when they are to be expected to make a life decision 
and a great consecration. The currents of feeling are to be expected 
to run deep, but it is to be clearly understood that an extravagantly 
emotional appeal is unnecessary and is certain to be confusing and 
harmful to some. Deathbed stories and all lurid illustrations are out 
of place. The service should be conducted by the superintendent or 
some teacher, never by a professional evangelist. Let the appeal be 
put in such a way as to exclude no one. To some it will mean 
acknowledgment of a purpose long since formed in the heart ; to 
others it will be a rededication ; to some it may be the first definite 
decision to accept the Saviour. The expression will, of course, be 
in action of one kind or another. Those who will respond may be 
asked to stand, or to come forward to the altar for prayer, or 
cards to be signed may be circulated. 

Properly observed. Decision Day may be an occasion of spiritual 
benefit and blessing to all, yet care should be taken that none is led 
to think of it as the one evangelistic service of the school year. All 
the work of the school should be evangelistic in spirit, all its efifort 
a form of evangelism. The atmosphere of the school should be 
such that pupils will feel free at any time to give expression to new 
or deepened religious interest. Teachers are to be warned against 
vv^aiting for special days. New beginnings in the Christian life are 
to be associated with the ever-present Spirit of God rather than 
with a special occasion or special method. It will not do for teachers 
to seek to escape personal responsibility by looking to some special 
occasion to accomplish that which should come to pass through their 
teaching and personal association with their pupils from week to 
week. 

(3) The Supreme Opportunity. No other public institution has 
the possibility of so great service to the Kingdom as has the Sun- 
day school at its best. Its work is formative and its opportunity is 
supreme. As some one has said, "When anything is growing one 
former is worth a thousand reformers." Such significance and 
such value attaches to its work, its possible service is so unique and 
so transcendent, that it should command without reserve the sym- 
pathy, the prayers, the investment in time and effort, of the most 



OF TEACHER TRAINING 353 

gifted, the most influential, and the best-trained people of the 
Church, both young and old. In the new day not far ahead this it 
shall do; and in that day the vineyard of the Lord shall be planted, 
"the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified." 

"The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a 
strong nation ; I, Jehovah, will hasten it in its time." 

II. MEMORY ASSIGNMENT 

"Time worketh ; let me work too. 
Time undoeth ; let me do. 
Busy as time my work I ply. 
Till I rest in the rest of eternity. 

"Sin worketh; let me work too. 
Sin undoeth ; let me do. 
Busy as sin my work I ply, 
Till I rest in the rest of eternity, 

"Death worketh; let me work too. 
Death undoeth ; let me do. 
Busy as death my work I ply, 
Till I rest m the rest of eternity." 

1. By way of meeting its responsibility to the religious 
life of the pupils, the school in its administration should : (a) 
Supplement the efforts of the teachers; (b) Provide a right 
atmosphere; (c) Recognize the presence and leadership 
of Jesus Christ; (d) Exalt the Church. 

2. Special Occasions of Outstanding Religious Value: 
(a) Christmas; (b) Easter; (c) Decision Day. 

III. QUESTIONS ON THE LESSON 

What tests would you apply in determining the success of a Sunday school? _ 

Why is it important that the school as such shall interest itself m the religious 
welfare of the members? . . . 

Specify different ways in which the school, in its administration, may minister 
to the religious life of its pupils. • , j ^.v 

What in general is to be said concerning reliance upon the occasional and the 
unusual rather than upon the constant and the regular? 

State some considerations which make it advisable to use special religious occasions. 

What emphasis should be strongest in the observance of Christmas? 

Why does Easter appeal especially to the heart of youth? 

What advantages inhere in observing a special Decision Day? 

Give suggestions on preparation for the day. On program. u -v a 

Give your own estimate of the possible service of the Sunday school to the Kingdom 

IV. REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. In the Worker and His Work Series 

1. The Evangelistic Aim. 

A.W.H.W. Chap. XII. 

2. Decision Day. 

S.H.W. Chap. XVIII. 
IT. In the Library 

I. Achieving the Religious Purpose of the Sunday School. 
Cope, Efficiency in the Sunday School, Chap. XL 



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